Paul-Boothe connection heats up for Warren
Warren juniors Darius Paul and Nathan Boothe have been teammates going back to sixth grade. The familiarity they have with each other was on display Saturday night on the final night of games in the North Chicago Holiday Tournament.
Paul dished out 7 assists to go with his 15-point, 17-rebound performance with many of the assists going directly to Boothe. Boothe took advantage of Paul's generosity, scoring 12 points to help Warren to a 79-68 win over the Warhawks.
"We have been playing together since seventh grade, or maybe it was sixth grade," said Paul, who also contributed 4 blocked shots. "I don't have to look too far for (Nathan), I just toss it up and he is there."
Paul wasn't the only player to dominate offensively for Warren (2-1). Juniors JoVaughn Gaines (15 points) and Jon Geske (11 points) along with senior Brandon Ferguson (11 points) also hit double figures for the Devils, who had their best offensive night in two seasons.
"I think we executed better tonight than we did in the first two games," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey. "I think that Paul and Boothe work very well together."
Many combinations worked well for Warren as the Devils broke open a tight game in the second quarter. A run of 11-4 for Warren took the lead to double figures for the first time at 39-27 just before half. Then a short burst of 8-2 to open the third quarter opened up the margin to 46-32 with 5:33 to go in the third quarter.
"I think we are getting better with each game," Ramsey said. "But we still have a long way to go - especially defensively. We aren't playing defense at the level we should be and fortunately we have a few days of practice this week to work on that."
North Chicago (0-3) got a boost off the bench from junior Aaron Simpson. The top-rated junior in the state sparked the Warhawks with 17 of his game-best 24 points off the bench. But North Chicago never got closer than 7 points in the final quarter.
The Devils made their free throws (23-for-30) to secure the victory.
Maurice Gordon (14 points) and Marzhon Bryant (10 points) were the only other players in double figures for North Chicago.