Warning: Don't get Warren's Paul angry

The quiet demeanor Warren junior Darius Paul exhibits can be somewhat deceptive.

Glenbrook North found out Saturday don't make the mild-mannered Paul mad.

"(Glenbrook North) were bumping and elbowing me and my teammates and I didn't like that," Paul said. "This has been a rival since the sixth grade for me and I didn't like getting hit like that."

Paul and the Devils took matters into their own hands in their nonconference road contest against the Spartans.

Paul's ferocious put-back dunk came as part of a 10-point, 10-rebound performance which lifted Warren to a 54-49 win.

"I really felt like we competed as a team at a high level tonight," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey.

"Last night (against Libertyville) for whatever reason we didn't have that attitude or attention to detail that we had tonight."

Warren (20-3) pulled away from the Spartans at the end of the third quarter.

A key play to end the period came when JoVaughn Gaines was fouled at the buzzer attempting a 3-pointer. Gaines hit 2 of the 3 free throws, but the momentum had clearly shifted to the Blue Devils.

"You could see it after that play that our body language was not good," said Spartans coach Dave Weber.

"(Warren) seemed to get a little spark from there and we didn't recover well at all."

A 9-2 run to open the final quarter gave the Devils their biggest lead at 48-38 with 1:21 to play. Gaines was a big key, scoring 6 of his game-best 16 points during the burst.

"Coach has always told us to come out and win the first three minutes of the half and win the start of the quarter," Gaines said.

"These guys here are our rivals and we wanted to come in here and beat these guys."

Defensively, the Devils matched up well with the big front line the Spartans presented. Peter Szostak and sophomore Andrew McAuliffe, both 6-feet-7, were limited to a combined 11 points by Paul, Nathan Boothe and junior Jon Geske.

"I'm proud of how this team came back and played a good game against a very good Glenbrook North team," Ramsey said.

Tommy Hanrahan led the Spartans with 15 points. Joseph Prince chipped in 11 for the Spartans, who lost their sixth game in their last eight and fell to 15-6.

Warren's Jeremiah Jackson contributed 10 points.