Warren stops Waukegan
The stylish markings shaved on the sides of Brandon Ferguson's head get him noticed.
The 3 charges the senior guard took during the Warren basketball team's 67-62, overtime win over Waukegan in second-round action of North Chicago's Thanksgiving tournament Friday night got him noticed by his defensive-minded coach.
“Those are humongous plays,” Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said.
None of the charges was bigger than the last one Ferguson absorbed. Waukegan's Akeem Springs knocked over Ferguson on a drive to the basket with 15.7 seconds left in overtime.
It was Springs' fifth foul, meaning he wouldn't by providing any more heroics.
It was Springs' 3-pointer at the buzzer, with 6-foot-6 Darius Paul “our longest, tallest kid,” Ramsey said draped all over him at the top of the arc, that sent the game to overtime tied at 55-55.
“That was an incredible shot,” Ramsey said, “just like that shot he had before that (a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left that pulled Waukegan within 53-52).”
“He got me on a pump fake,” Paul said of Springs, who led all scorers with 24 points, including 21 in the second half. “He had one step on me. I jumped as high as I could. He hit a rainbow so there was no way to stop him.”
At times, Paul was unstoppable getting to the basket. The junior forward finished with team highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Eight of Paul's rebounds were on the offensive glass and 5 resulted in putbacks.
“I thought Darius sustained his effort pretty well, which is an improvement,” said Ramsey, who used Paul coming off the bench for the second straight game. “He was very active inside. He's so long that when he will attack the inside area and get up to the rim, he's just really tough to stop.”
The win allowed Warren (1-1) to rebound from its 57-53 loss to Lake Forest Academy on Wednesday. But it gets no easier for the Blue Devils, who play host North Chicago at 7 p.m. today in the tourney finale.
“That was a big relief, getting the (burden) off our shoulders and getting the win,” said Ferguson, who scored 9 points, as well.
Tanner Erbach added 13 points coming off the bench for Warren, while Jeremiah Jackson had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Nathan Boothe also scored 10 points for the Blue Devils.
Erbach sank three 3-pointers, including one with 51 seconds left in the fourth off a Ferguson feed that put the Blue Devils up 51-49.
Erbach then opened OT by hitting another 3.
“We needed him to step up with the 3s,” Ferguson said. “When I passed him the ball (late in the fourth), I knew it was going in. I always trust him.”
Ferguson followed with a defensive rebound and length-of-the-floor drive and basket to make it a 5-point margin and Warren had the lead for good in the extra session.
“Our kids played hard and they showed composure,” said Ramsey, whose Blue Devils outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-19, despite playing without 6-6 Roman Schultz (sprained ankle), to help overcame 23 turnovers.
“Wednesday night we were fed some humble pie,” Ramsey added. “Lake Forest Academy has some pretty good players and there's no shame in losing to them. But it was the way we played. We played bad. We played a lot better tonight.”
Springs missed 10 straight shots at one point but heated up in the fourth, sinking three 3s and scoring 15 in the quarter on 5-of-7 shooting. Springs finished with five 3s, while Aaron Johnson (18 points) hit four for the Bulldogs. Denochio Pierce added 10 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 steals.
Paul scored 6 points in OT, making 2 free throws with 10.5 seconds left to seal the win.
“(Thursday) Coach was yelling at us about how we weren't playing hard,” Paul said. “He said he was going to play anybody. I had to step up.”