Boothe, Warren produce sparkling effort
PONTIAC Coaches are ones to worry about many things, such as the rust that seems to settle in with otherwise sharp teams over the holidays.
Warren had played just twice in the last 19 days, so you can understand why coach Chuck Ramsey was concerned.
Turns out, though, that rust and timing were anything but a problem for Nathan Boothe and the Blue Devils.
Boothe scored 16 of his game-best 20 in the third quarter as Warren opened up play at the 81st annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament with an impressive 71-40 win over Plainfield North. The Blue Devils (8-1) will face Joliet West, a 64-57 winner over Waukegan, in an 11 a.m. Thursday semifinal.
"(With Nathan) sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't, and today the timing was there and he was aggressive and assertive," said Ramsey, who earned career win No. 385. "He got a couple quick baskets on a sideline out of bounds and that really seemed to get him going."
Not that the Warren offense was struggling in the first half as the Devils took a 29-18 lead into the locker room. But the third quarter showed just what Warren is capable of.
"That was the best we have played so far," Ramsey said. "We had a real good third quarter and got a lot of contributions from everyone that played."
Warren opened the third quarter on a 15-2 run that saw the Devils take the lead to 44-19 with 5:07 to go in the quarter. Boothe rattled off three straight baskets, including one that featured a behind-the-head, no-look pass from JoVaughn Gaines for a running layup. Boothe closed the run himself with a steal and breakaway dunk to cap the 30-point third quarter outburst.
"We call (Gaines) trick shot because he can make those tricky passes like that," said the Toledo-bound Boothe. "I had a little slump in the first half and I know that running the floor is when we are at our best, so I got out and did that."
Western Michigan-bound senior Darius Paul provided the offense early, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the first half. Paul added 15 boards and 4 blocks to his total. Senior Mitch Munda also hit double figures with 10 of his 12 points coming before half.
Before the game, Ramsey, who will step down at the end of the season, was honored by the administration of the Pontiac tournament and was presented with a plaque.