Smith sparks Warren

Nearly fully recovered from a cold that had him wearing tight white long sleeves under his Warren basketball jersey for the second straight game Tuesday night, Jameris Smith made a statement of another kind.

He soared over teammate Nathan Boothe to score on a putback during the first half of the Blue Devils' 64-38 rout of visiting Stevenson.

Boothe stands 6 feet 9.

Smith (5-10) is nearly a foot shorter.

"He's quite an athlete," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said.

"I thought he was going to dunk on me," Boothe said, smiling, of Smith. "I thought he was going to push off my shoulders and jump over me."

Smith had his legs against Stevenson, and so did his teammates.

Looking nothing like they did the last time they played Stevenson, the Blue Devils avenged their 44-43 loss in Lincolnshire on Dec. 6 by opening a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and never relenting.

"We were bigheaded the last time," Smith said. "Now we're hungry and humble."

Warren (14-2, 5-1) remained tied for first place in the North Suburban Lake Division with Mundelein, which comes to Gurnee on Saturday night. Stevenson (11-8, 4-4), which lost for the seventh time in eight games, couldn't stop Boothe, who poured in a career-high 25 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

"Nathan Boothe," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said, "is awful good. He's a load."

Funny, when Boothe faced Stevenson the first time, the Toledo-bound pivot scored only 5 points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 shooting from the foul line.

Tuesday night, Boothe went 12 of 19, making his last 9 shots, and split his only 2 free throws. His baskets included four putbacks and an 18-foot jumper.

"I went up stronger tonight," said Boothe, who hit for a then-career-best 24 points against Libertyville on Jan. 13. "I had better looks at the basket, and they just got me the ball when I could score."

Mitch Munda and Darius Paul (4 blocks) added 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Warren, which was up 15-7 after one quarter thanks in part to 7-of-14 shooting. Paul's one-handed dunk and Smith's athletic putback just before Boothe was going to grab the ball highlighted a second-quarter flurry that extended the Blue Devils' edge to 28-15 by halftime.

So much for being sick. Smith finished with 9 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds (4 offensive).

"Ever since (last week) my body's been really cold," said Smith, explaining his long sleeves. "I've been wearing a sweatshirt in practice and things like that."

Warren also got a lift from Jon Geske, who came off the bench to contribute 3 rebounds and 3 assists. By the end of three quarters, the hosts were up 46-27.

That was more points than the Blue Devils had the entire game the last time against Stevenson.

"Every game's different," Ramsey said. "It starts 0-0. It goes for 32 minutes. It goes fast. Every game takes on its own circumstances. ... We played a lot better tonight than we did the last time, especially in terms of finishing shots."

Jalen Brunson led Stevenson with 13 points, while Mike Fleming had 11. Like most teams that play Warren, the Patriots had trouble scoring in the low post due to the effectiveness of Paul and Boothe.

Warren's JoVaughn Gaines dished out 4 assists and swatted a Fleming shot off the backboard.

"Yeah, they're awful good," Ambrose said. "They were able to get the ball inside, muscle us, and pound us that way."