Boys basketball: Top-seeded Warren ousted in sectional semifinal by Rockford Auburn

America’s Original March Madness is officially underway as Amir Danforth put the state on notice with 30 points in the Class 4A Rockton Hononegah sectional semifinals leading Auburn to an 84-76 upset victory over top-seeded Warren on Tuesday night.

“It's very rewarding,” said Danforth, a North Dakota State commit and nephew of NBA champion Fred VanVleet. “We were preparing for them since (December).”

The Blue Devils (30-4, 14-0) claimed an early season 88-76 win over Auburn (26-8, 16-2) that got out of hand at times, with Warren pulling their starters for stretches of the game, Danforth said.

“Warren had come in and had their way with us in the second and third quarter in our place back in our FVV classic,” added Auburn coach Bryan Ott. “We felt like, yeah, they're an excellent team, but geez, we're better than that.”

“Coach Ott was telling us, we have a chance to see them again in the playoffs. (He said) we're gonna knock them out. We did that,” Danforth said.

The rematch with Warren put all eyes on Danforth as he went head-to-head with Warren’s Jaxson Davis, the 2025 Mr. Basketball Illinois.

Danforth, a senior guard, got the action started by knocking down a 3-pointer in front of the Auburn bench that got the crowd going. It was the spark the Knights were looking for as they jumped out to a 9-0 first-quarter advantage.

Danforth scored 5 in the opening eight minutes of play, with fellow Auburn seniors Mikwan Marshall and Royal Whitmore chipping in as well. Marshall finished with 18.

Danforth made his second 3-pointer of the night and the Knights followed his lead again, adding four more. It overwhelmed the Blue Devils, and Auburn went into halftime with a 46-36 lead.

“We knew they were tough to guard because we played them already,” said Warren coach Zack Ryan. “But you gotta give them credit, they made shots.”

Davis ended the half with 5 points. He faced consistent pressure from the Knights defense any time he tried to drive into the lane. He fell to the ground several times attempting acrobatic layups.

He briefly left the game during the third quarter. When asked postgame, Ryan said that Davis had sustained an injury in practice Monday and was playing hurt.

Davis finished with 9 points and 4 assists.

With their point guard out of the lineup, Warren senior Braylon Walker got busy in the third quarter. He ripped off 7 unanswered points to close the Auburn lead to 48-43 with under four minutes left in the quarter.

Avonn King gave the Blue Devils their first lead since the second quarter when he stole an inbounds pass and took it the length of the floor for a three-point play with just over a minute to play in the third.

“I thought we had them there, but, you know, we just ended up falling short,” said Walker, who finished with a game-high 31 points.

It was a special season for Warren, which carried heavy expectations throughout after losing the state title game a year ago.

Warren claimed an outright North Suburban Conference title with an unbeaten run in conference.

“The seniors group, they definitely came in. They set the foundation,” Walker said. “I love playing with this group of guys, great people.”

“They gave us everything they had,” Ryan added. “Proud of those guys, four great years. We won a lot of games together.”