Curie edges foul-plagued Warren in double OT
PONTIAC At the end of a marathon semifinal at the 81st annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament against Chicago Curie, Warren simply ran out of time and nearly ran out of players.
The Blue Devils, saddled with foul trouble again, lost three starters and a key reserve to fouls yet still held on for not one but two overtimes against the unbeaten Condors.
But a 14-5 run in the second overtime, which included a big basket from leading scorer Devin Foster of Curie, proved to be too much as the Condors upended the Devils 77-68 before an overflow sell-out crowd.
"We had plenty of opportunities to get it done and we didn't get it done at the level needed to get it done," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey. "This is the Christmas tournament and you hope to learn from it and move on."
Just to get to the overtimes, Warren (9-2) needed some last-minute heroics from senior JoVaughn Gaines. After a 3-pointer by Western Michigan-bound senior Darius Paul, who led the Devils with 21 points and 14 boards, pulled Warren within 55-52 with 20 seconds left, Warren caught a rare break.
A loose ball foul on Foster gave Warren the ball back with one final chance. In the corner, Paul found Gaines who launched a high arching 3-ball that seemingly took forever to fall from the sky. When it did, it found the bottom to force overtime.
"When we came out of the huddle, I knew I was going to make the shot," said Gaines, who fouled out but finished with 12 points. "I came off the screen and there was one thing on my mind and that was to catch and shoot, and I made it."
In the second overtime, Jon Geske took his shot at becoming a hero. His only 2 points of the afternoon tied the game at 63 and forced the second overtime session.
"Warren is a good team and you know that they are not going to quit," said Curie coach Mike Oliver. "When you miss free throws and leave the door open, good teams like Warren will take advantage and they did that twice."
Overtime No. 2 saw the Devils take the floor minus, Gaines, and Nathan Boothe, and shortly after the tip, Mitch Munda and Geske. Boothe was battled foul trouble the whole way and the Devils surely missed him.
"It is such a shame when a guy like Nathan is limited like that," Ramsey said.
Warren hung close until a bucket by Foster, who led all scorers with 25 points, started a 7-2 run and ended Warren's hopes.
To go with Foster's game-best 25 was a 15-point effort from Malcom Hill-Bey and 11 from Jibreel Jackson. Munda (14 points) and Jamaris Smith (10 points) also paced Warren.
Warren 63, Peoria Manual 54: Warren bounced back after a tough loss in the semifinals to down Class 3A power Peoria Manual 63-54 for third place.
After only scoring 6 points in limited action in the semifinal loss to Curie, Toledo-bound senior Nathan Boothe bounced back with a 16-point, 8-rebound performance.
Darius Paul continued his strong play with 16 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Devils, who improved to 10-2 overall.
Peoria Manual, which fell to No. 1 Simeon by a point in the semifinals, was led by Jeff White and Quenton Lowe with 12 points each.