Scouting the Waukegan sectional final

Waukegan Class 4A sectional final

Warren (23-5) vs. Waukegan (23-4)

When: 7:30 p.m. today

TV: 10:30 p.m., tape delay on Comcast Digital Channel 100

Radio: 1220 AM-WKRS

Road to the sectional: No. 4 Warren won the Lake Zurich regional by defeating Rolling Meadows, 70-47 and Lake Zurich, 69-62, then defeated No. 1 Lake Forest, 66-45 in the sectional semifinal on Tuesday. No. 2 Waukegan won the Hoffman Estates regional by defeating Mundelein, 102-71 and Fremd, 80-50, then defeated No. 2 Zion-Benton, 70-64 in the sectional semifinal on Wednesday.

Sectional history: Warren is making its eighth appearance in a sectional title game since 1995. The Lake County sectional site has moved around in recent years, but the last two times it was in Waukegan, the Blue Devils won the title. In 2006, they beat Johnsburg and in 2007, they beat Zion-Benton. Warren boasts five sectional championships over the last 13 years. ... Waukegan ended a long dry spell by winning back-to-back sectional titles in 2004 and 2005. The Bulldogs haven't won a sectional since.

Previous meeting: In November, Waukegan rolled to a 73-60 victory in the championship game of its own Thanksgiving tournament by forcing Warren into an uncharacteristic 20 turnovers. The Bulldogs got a game-high 23 points from Jereme Richmond. David Duncan, who was in foul trouble for much of the game, and Brandon Paul, who was 0-for-6 from 3-point land and says that this particular game was his worst of the year, led Warren with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

Probable starting lineups

Warren Waukegan

Player Ht. Yr. Pos. Player Ht. Yr.

Aaron Montgomery 5-8 Sr. G Mike Springs 6-0 Jr.

David Duncan 5-11 Sr. G Aaron Johnson 5-10 Soph.

Brandon Paul 6-3 Sr. G/F Jereme Richmond 6-7 Jr.

Jake Anderson 6-3 Sr. F/G Quan Conner 6-2 Jr.

James Poliquin 6-4 Sr. F/G Colin Nickerson 6-3 Sr.

Scouting report: So which style will prevail? Run-and-gun, or control in the half-court? Warren can run the floor, but seems best suited to a more methodical half-court game. Waukegan is just the opposite. The Bulldogs can function well in the half-court, but would much prefer to run circles around the competition. "They're not the up-and-down team that we are, or that Zion-Benton can be," Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw said of Warren. "But they're a very physical team, very well-coached, tremendously disciplined and a high-IQ kind of basketball team. They'll try to control the tempo and they'll be prepared for our trapping."... In November, when the two teams faced off in their only other meeting of the season, the tempo was much more to Waukegan's liking. "In that game, they just outplayed us thoroughly," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "Defensively, we have to do everything we can this time to prevent them from getting easy layups in transition. We can't turn the ball over or take quick, wild shots. We have to take their run game away."... Each team will be looking to dim the other's star power. And there's plenty to go around on both sides. Waukegan boasts a dynamic duo in Division I recruits Jereme Richmond, a junior who has committed to Illinois, and Colin Nickerson, who is coming off a 23-point performance against Zion-Benton and has signed with Fairfield. Warren has its own Division I star in guard Brandon Paul, who signed with Illinois and has been on fire during the tournament. He is averaging 29 points over the last three games and has put the Blue Devils squarely on his back for long stretches in the last two outings. "Brandon is going to have to come up with another big performance," Ramsey said. "I know he'll want to play his very best. He's a competitor and he's learned from that first game (against Waukegan in November)."... Paul hopes to get some help from a strong supporting cast that includes Jake Anderson, who came up big on both ends against Lake Forest, long-range bomber David Duncan (11 ppg) and James Poliquin (10.8 ppg), ... Waukegan has had numerous complementary players step up this season. Aaron Johnson and Quan Conner scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, against Zion-Benton and guard Mike Springs was a thorn in Warren's side back in November. He scored 17 points in that game. ... But the biggest X-factor could be the venue, Waukegan's homecourt, the charming, old East Campus gym, which was packed to the gills for the Bulldogs' semifinal win over Zion-Benton on Wednesday. "We play well here. Our guys have a lot of confidence here," Ashlaw said. "Our 'Bulldog Nation' is growing by leaps and bounds. Our guys rise to the occasion in big atmospheres." But then again, Warren seems to do the same. The Blue Devils haven't had it easy so far in March. They had to beat Lake Zurich on its own floor for the regional title, knock off the No. 1 seed in the sectional semifinal and now must steal a victory from yet another home team in order to add more hardware to their trophy case. "Home court is a major advantage in high school basketball," Ramsey said. "We've had no advantages in this seeding process but it is what it is. Our kids have done OK with it."

Advancement: Winner advances to the Hoffman Estates (Sears Centre) supersectional at 8 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of the Niles North sectional final between Notre Dame and Glenbrook North.