State title shot for Warren
PEORIA -- It was just one shot, but it meant a lot to Warren's basketball team.
While a long-range 3-pointer by senior Brandon Ferguson was the only one in 10 attempts from beyond the arc for the Blue Devils, it turned out to be one they needed to have a shot at playing for the state championship.
Making 3-pointers isn't all that normal for the Blue Devils, but this was Normal Community that Warren was facing in the Class 4A state semifinals at Carver Arena, and the Blue Devils knew that being abnormal was what it would take to win.
Ferguson's 3-pointer early in the third quarter was part of a 12-0 run that stunned the Ironmen. Throw in an 11-4 run midway through the final quarter and Warren had a convincing 55-43 win.
The Blue Devils are back in the state title game for the first time since they lost to St. Joseph for Class AA supremacy in 1999.
Awaiting the Blue Devils is a familiar foe in Simeon. The defending Class 4A state champions earned their spot in the title game with a 56-53 win over Glenbard East in the first semifinal of the night. Warren lost to Simeon 58-50 in the championship game of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament in December.
"I'm just real proud of the kids and the effort that they gave tonight," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey. "Someone told me that we started the second half on a 12-0 run and we really needed that against a real good team in Normal."
In adding to their school record win total, the Blue Devils (31-3) used the strong second-half burst to fend off the challenge from Normal (27-7).
"This was a game with a lot of runs, a lot of good ebb and flow to it," Ramsey said.
Normal closed the second quarter with a buzzer-beating, fall-away 3-pointer by Anthony Beane that gave the Ironmen a 27-25 lead. Beane led all scorers with 21 points.
Warren countered with a strong third-quarter run that has become a trademark this season.
"Coach always tells us to get things going and to play harder at halftime, and we just come out with energy and play hard," said Ferguson, who chipped in 13 points.
Warren came out hard on offense to open up the lead, but the defense gave the Ironmen fits. Normal was hot in the first half, hitting 48 percent of its shots. In the third quarter, just one shot fell as the Devils pulled away. Normal scored just 7 points through the first 12 minutes of the second half.
"I think we were getting some of the same looks like we did in the first half," said Normal coach Dave Witzig. "You got to give a lot of credit to Warren. That is the best defensive team we have seen, and they made it real tough on us."
"We did a great job of team defense," Ramsey said. "Through 34 games we seem to have gotten better each time out and have started to figure things out in the second half. (Against Simeon), we better figure it out sooner."
On offense, the Devils figured the Ironmen out as well. Junior Darius Paul was a force for the Devils, leading the way with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Senior Jeremiah Jackson, who was fouled hard in the fourth quarter and injured his right shoulder, chipped in with 10 points to go with 9 boards.
The Blue Devils now get the rematch from one of their three losses this year against the Wolverines.
"This is about us playing our game and not worrying about what they do," Ferguson said. "They are going to come out and come at us hard and we will be ready."