Warren tips Maine S. in double overtime

Playing at a slow, methodical pace was something different for Warren's boys basketball team on Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils had plenty of time to arrive at a solution against a previously unbeaten Maine South team.

It took two overtimes and a Darius Paul free throw for Warren to escape with a 43-42 victory in the opening game of the Galesburg Tournament held in Park Ridge. The remaining four games will be played over the Martin Luther King weekend in January.

Blue Devils (6-1) won its sixth straight game after losing its opener to Lake Forest Academy; Maine South (6-1) lost its first game.

Paul (8 points) scored the only point in the second overtime, making 1 free throw with 1:13 remaining.

"Nobody was making shots at the end and everybody was nervous," Paul said. "I needed to make the free throws. I made the first one but missed the second one. I really thought we would get more points. We'll take the point and the win."

Maine South had one last opportunity win at the end. The Hawks' Matt Palucki (26 points) took an inbounds pass and sent a baseline jumper short of the rim in the final second.

"Our kids were gutty and our kids got the stop at the end," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "We did get enough to win, and it certainly wasn't a work of art. We did get a good win, in a different way, against a good team on the road. Not many teams are going to win in this gym this year."

The Blue Devils worked through the slow pace and led 16-13 at the break.

Warren managed to find some rhythm in the third quarter, when Nathan Boothe scored 7 of his team-high 11 points. He also finished with 6 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Warren outscored the Hawks 14-7 in the third quarter and held a 30-20 lead going into the final quarter.

"With the zone, we were able to exploit some things and got better position," Boothe said. "We had cutting action and I was able to hit some shots."

Maine South chipped away in the final quarter. Palucki scored 13 points and made 11 of 12 free throws to tie the game at 37-37 with 13 seconds left. Warren had a chance to win in regulation but had a 3-point shot go off the rim at the buzzer.

In the first overtime, the Hawks pulled ahead 42-40 as Palucki made 2 free throws and Tony Albano 1 with 47 seconds left.

But the Blue Devils' Jameris Smith (7 points) tied the game again by making 2 free throws with five seconds remaining.

Maine South missed its chance of taking the game, missing a 3-pointer as time expired.

"Warren was a good team and a great test," Maine South coach Tony Lavorato said. "It was like a postseason game here in December. Possession by possession.

"Warren has a great opportunity to make it downstate. Not a perfect game on either side. It was kind of two sloppy teams playing even. We did have an opportunity to win it at the end."