Boys basketball: Warren turns up pressure on Rich Township, advances to Class 4A state championship game
CHAMPAIGN — Jaxson Davis was excited.
The sophomore point guard had every reason to be. Playing at the same university where his dad, Brian Davis, played football, he poured in a game-high 27 points and added seven steals, five rebounds and two assists, as Warren outlasted Rich Township 66-49 on Friday evening in the second Class 4A semifinal at State Farm Center in Champaign on the University of Illinois campus.
It was the Blue Devils' sixth straight double-digit postseason win (27-10). They will play Benet, a 56-47 winner over Evanston, at 8 p.m. on Saturday for the state championship.
"It's just a special moment and an amazing feeling to play at the school that he played at," Davis said. "My dad (who is an assistant coach for Warren) taught me my game IQ.
"I've always played up against kids that are older than me and it just comes natural. This is one of my better performances but I'm extremely confident playing with these guys."
Seniors Javerion Banks (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists), Jack Wolf (10 points, 6 boards), Zach Ausburn (6 points, 5 rebounds), and junior Braylon Walker (5 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds) were also big for Warren.
The Blue Devils, who are making their ninth downstate appearance, will bring home their third state trophy. They finished second in Class AA in 1999 and second in Class 4A in 2011.
"These guys played great," Warren coach Zack Ryan said of his team. "It's been a long season with a lot of ups and downs. They just trust each other and play hard. I couldn't be happier for these guys. They talked about this since last year and now we're here."
Jayden Williams, a junior who had a team-high 18 points, scored on a short jumper in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to bring the Raptors (25-9) within 50-43. But that was as close as it would get.
Ahead 56-48, Davis scored on a driving layup with 2:32 to play to start a 10-0 run. Banks, who missed six weeks with a bone cyst in his left hip, put an exclamation point on the victory with a steal and a slam with 43 seconds to play.
"I feel like I'm back to my old self," Banks said. "I was really excited and wanted to bring energy off the bench. We knew what we had to do and what the job was."
Davis had eight points in the third quarter, including a steal and a layup with 4:00 left. Just over a minute later, Wolf buried a 3-pointer from the right baseline and the Blue Devils had their largest lead to that point at 49-37. It was 50-41 after three.
Warren never trailed in the game. With the score tied 2-2, the Blue Devils went on a 12-2 run and grabbed a 14-4 lead midway through the first quarter on a reverse layup by Banks. Those were the first of eight straight points for him as he provided a spark off the bench.
Banks capped his outburst with a layup with 1:41 left in the quarter and a 20-10 lead. However, the Raptors were within 22-17 after the first quarter and 24-23 early in the second. Davis scored five points as Warren extended back to a seven-point lead before settling on a 36-31 halftime advantage.
Senior Al Brooks, Jr. added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Rich Township. It was only the fourth time the Raptors scored under 50 points this season. They will face Evanston at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday for third.
"We held them to 18 points in the second half," Davis said. "We played great defense."
Warren has been playing great overall since the postseason started.
"We're really excited to have an opportunity to bring a second state championship to Lake County," said Ryan, who hopes his team can join Stevenson, who won Class 4A in 2015. "We played a really tough schedule.
"Am I surprised we're here? Not really. We've put the time in."