Boys basketball: Stevenson stays poised, holds off Warren
Trying to fight an uphill struggle the entire game proved to be a losing proposition for host Warren when the Blue Devils faced Stevenson in North Suburban Conference boys basketball play Friday night.
The Patriots took a 17-10 lead after one quarter and they held their biggest lead at 27-14 midway through the second quarter before taking a 33-25 lead into halftime.
And while Warren (18-9, 6-5) definitely made it interesting down the stretch, it came up just short as the Patriots (18-8, 9-2) held on for a 58-56 victory.
The Blue Devils outscored Stevenson 20-11 in the fourth quarter as a driving basket by Warren's Javerion Banks (game-high 21 points, 5 rebounds) cut the lead to 57-56 with just 2.6 seconds to play. But the Blue Devils never attempted a 3-pointer to go for the tie.
That resulted in Stevenson's Aidan Bardic (11 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) hitting a free throw with 1.4 seconds left and purposely missing the second free throw to seal the narrow win for the Pats.
Junior Donny Williams had a huge game for Stevenson with 12 of his team-high 20 points in the first half while teammate Rocco Pagliocca had 11 points. Stevenson's Atticus Richmond had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists as the Patriots outrebounded the Blue Devils 30-27.
"I thought we did a good job keeping our poise, and for the most part we did a good job keeping them off the offensive glass," said Stevenson coach Will Benson, whose team lost 67-51 to Warren on Jan. 10 with Bardic out of the lineup. "Our kids are really smart and to be honest with you that was Aidan's idea to miss the second free throw so that was awesome."
Warren suffered through some cold shooting throughout the game as Zach Ausburn (11 rebounds) and Jaxson Davis (5 rebounds) scored 10 points apiece. Jack Wolf scored 9 points for the Blue Devils while Stevenson's Liam Curtin chipped in 4 points.
"We really played as a team and we kept playing together and hitting shots," said Williams, who had 10 points in the first quarter. "Rebounding was another big key, and even in the pressure moments I know we can play strong."
Warren trailed 37-32 midway through the third quarter, but the Patriots boosted their lead back to 47-36 entering the fourth quarter on a last-second shot by junior Aidan Albrecht.
"We didn't get off to a very good start and I think that was the difference," said Warren coach Zack Ryan. "We battled in the end, but we're not connected right now for the whole game but we'll figure it out. Obviously you want to play from not coming from behind and we did not shoot the ball well from the field."