Boothe's bomb buoys Warren

A dozen-plus days into 2012 and Warren's boys basketball team hadn't played a game.

Nathan Boothe wasn't idle, however, despite him and his teammates having last tipped off Dec. 30 in Pontiac.

The Blue Devils' long-armed kid was working on his long toss, apparently.

Boothe's 3-pointer just his second of the season was one of many highlights for Warren in its 72-53 win over visiting Libertyville on Friday night that kept the Blue Devils tied for first place in the North Suburban Lake Division with Mundelein.

Boothe poured in a career-high 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and dished out 2 assists. He was 1 of 1 from beyond the arc.

"I'll shoot it some more in practice now," said Boothe, whose only other 3 was against Mundelein on Dec. 9. "I have been."

Warren (11-2, 4-1) hit seven 3-pointers, including a pair by both Darius Paul and JoVaughn Gaines, while six players combined to sink 10 3s for Libertyville (10-5, 2-3). Ellis Matthews (two 3s) and Griffin Pils (four) had 18 and 17 points, respectively, for the Wildcats.

"Playing against (Warren) is always tough," said Libertyville forward Luke Mathewson, who hit his first 3-pointer of the season and also had 5 rebounds. "Their size, their talent, their mental toughness ... They're smart players. Combine that all and you get a top-five team in the state. Which they are."

The Blue Devils are almost unbeatable when they pass and shoot the ball as they did against Libertyville. The 6-foot-9 Boothe and the 6-8 Paul feasted inside against the smaller Wildcats, whose tallest starters were Mathewson, Matthews and Jack Deichl (all listed at 6-5).

Like Boothe, Paul had a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Gaines (12 points) and Mitch Munda (11) also scored in double figures, as the Blue Devils shot 61 percent (30 of 49). Gaines, Jameris Smith and Jon Geske each had 4 assists. Munda and Aarias Austin, who came off the bench and also sank a 3 at the final buzzer, distributed 3 assists each.

The prettiest dishes came during a second-quarter flurry that helped Warren extend a 12-8 advantage after one quarter to 30-19 by halftime.

In one motion, Smith came up with a steal at half-court and slapped the ball ahead to Gaines, who dunked with one hand. Later, Gaines tipped the ball away in the Libertyville backcourt, dived on the floor and, while sitting and being harassed, whipped a two-handed pass under the basket to Geske, who finished the layup.

"We had some really good hustle plays, getting loose balls that led directly to baskets," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "Our kids played hard."

In the third quarter, after an alley-oop try from Paul to Boothe didn't work out, Boothe buried a 3 from the left wing, extending the home team's lead to 51-27 with 2:08 left.

"I was feeling it, so JoVaughn was like, 'Step up and take the 3,'" Boothe said. "So I stepped out and he gave me it."

Boothe's range didn't surprise his coach.

"He's a very good outside shooter," Ramsey said. "He can shoot out there."

Boothe shot 11 of 17 from the floor and split 2 free throws. His previous high was 23 points in a game last season.

"They got me the ball through the zone, and when (Libertyville) went man, they just kept looking for me in the high post," Boothe said of his teammates. "We worked all practice on that."

Pils doubled Libertyville's first-quarter scoring output with a four-point play in the closing seconds of the opening eight minutes. Matthews opened the second quarter with a 3 to get the Wildcats within 12-11, but Paul's 3 commenced a 14-1 run.

"We came out and executed our game plan early, but we just couldn't keep up with them," Mathewson said. "We just didn't have the matchups we needed tonight."