Boys basketball: Warren repeats as Proviso West champs
For all intents and purposes a coach starts to turn their attention to the next opponent on their schedule once their team has completed their contest.
Take for example third-year Warren coach Zack Ryan whose Blue Devils unit had just earned a second straight trip to the finals of the Proviso West Holiday Tournament after dispatching the tourney host Friday night setting up a title rematch versus the team it had defeated a year ago in Lincoln Park.
"In a tournament like this you've got to change right when the game is over," Ryan said. "So last night we immediately started thinking about these guys."
He knew that it would be nothing like the 25-plus point blowout it had placed on them last year.
"Obviously they're playing really well and they got a lot of their guys back from last year who are a year older. We hope to put on a good show."
Ryan was spot on with his assessment as his team would need everything and then some to hang on against a much improved Lincoln Park unit for a 59-58 Saturday night win in Hillside to earn a second straight crown.
"We're excited to be back (winning) the championship again and (to) put on a good show and get out with a win," Ryan said.
Warren (10-2) first had to dig out of a 52-46 hole after a hoop by Lincoln Park guard Jaylen Dickerson with 4:49 left before the Blue Devils went on a 13-3 run that put them ahead 59-55 on a triple from tourney MVP Jaxson Davis (team-high 21 points) with 1:00 remaining that finished the run off.
However, the Lions (13-3) would pull within one courtesy of a trip of charity tosses featuring a pair from all-tourney selection guard Ahmad Lee that it made it 59-58 with 21 ticks left.
After a pair of missed free throws by Warren with 6 seconds remaining, Lincoln Park would get one more chance for the win but an attempt by Lee from beyond the arc hit the back of the rim as time expired.
All- tourney first-team honoree Dickerson led all scorers with 22 points followed by forward Chayse Turner's 11 for the Lions while 6-8 senior center Nick Ausford's 18-point, 15-rebound performance followed by 6-4 senior swingman Jack Wolf's 8-point effort netted the Blue Devils pair their respective spots on the all-tourney first team.
Ausford felt positive about his success in the paint. The Blue Devils start the second half of the season Saturday with a trip to the Steve Pappas Memorial Shootout at DePaul Prep with a game versus the two-time defending state champion Rams.
"I felt good with my matchups inside no matter who they threw at me and it helped the rest of my teammates,“ Ausford said. ”This is really a good win to close out the first half of the season."
It also gives Ryan and staff a couple of days to assess the state of their squad as well.
"After Christmas you kind of take a step back and see where you're at as a team and then look forward to the second half and getting better so you're playing your best," Ryan said.