Warren High School boys basketball has not ended a season with a losing record since March of 1976, when a Blue Devils squad coached by Kit Gordon went 6-18 while a member of the Northwest Suburban Conference.
That’s an amazing 38 seasons of playing .500 ball or better under just three coaches — Darrel Bader, Chuck Ramsey, and current leader Ryan Webber..
If it becomes 39 seasons when the 2014-2015 campaign ends next month, it will be a truly outstanding achievement for the young men who wear the Blue/Gold.
The Blue Devils’ schedule this year has been basketball-suicide. They played in three top-end tournaments and, of course, they swim with the sharks in the Lake Division of the North Suburban Conference, where Zion-Benton (NCAA Division 1 recruit Admiral Schofield), Lake Forest (NCAA Division 1 recruit Evan Boudreaux) and Stevenson (NCAA Division 1 recruits Jalen Brunson and Connor Cashaw) reside.
At one point in early January, Warren was sitting on 5-11, and 20 losses seemed more likely than avoiding a losing season.
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Not anymore.
When Warren knocked off Libertyville 57-49 last Friday night, it moved the winners to 12-13 on the season. Tuesday, the Devils host Stevenson, which you have to figure is not going to turn out well for the home team. That would be 12-14. But after that come winnable games against Prospect and Lakes which would get Warren to 14-14 and .500 for the first time all season.
Then comes March Madness, where a loss obviously will end the season. But it’s very realistic to see the Devils win at least one playoff game, which would extend the streak of non-losing seasons to 39.
In the win over Libertyville, the heroes were guards Jack Falish and Maurice Chambers. Falish hit seven threes and had a game-high 25 points, while Chambers scored 19.
Warren has won seven of its last 10, with the losses to Lake Forest , Zion-Benton, and 20-win Maine South.
Champaign Centennial 74, North Chicago 60: On Saturday at the Kaneland Shootout, North Chicago (11-14) lost to a downstate power. Courtez Zinnerman-Dixon had 24 points and sophomore Simeon Hinton 21 in the loss. Champaign was 18-for-20 at the free-throw line.
Grayslake North 60, CL Central 43: This Saturday win moved the 14-9 Knights to 7-3 in the Fox Valley Fox. Prairie Ridge leads at 7-2. Aidan Einloth had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the win.
Indian Trail (Wis.) 56, LF Academy 55: The Caxys finished their season 18-6 with this loss in Kenosha. They do play in the March Madness tournament.
Lake Zurich 49, Highland Park 46: This Saturday game went to the 19-8 Bears while the Giants fell to 17-6. The teams are in different sectionals for March Madness.
Evanston 80, Waukegan 53: With this win last Friday, the Wildkits will represent the South Division in the Central Suburban League Championship Game. They will face Deerfield. Waukegan played shorthanded, and was led by Jacqui Taylor-Ford with a dozen points.
Vernon Hills 82, Round Lake 27: The Cougars (23-3) set a school record for wins in a season with this Friday result, and also clinched a spot in the North Suburban Championship Game against Stevenson. It will be the school’s first appearance in the title game. Vernon Hills is 10-0 in the North Suburban Prairie and Lakes is 8-2. The those teams play on Wednesday. Even if Vernon Hills turtles this week and loses twice, it has the tiebreaker over Lakes. Cougar star Robby Nardini led with 17 points, but every member of the winning team contributed.
Marian Central 73, Carmel 72: A three by Adam Piske with 11 seconds left flipped the script in this East Suburban Catholic Conference game on Friday. C.J. Duff had 15 points for Carmel.
Deerfield 50, Glenbrook North 47 (ot): The Warriors earned a spot in the Central Suburban League Championship Game with this overtime victory on Friday. They will play Evanston for the title.
Grant 67, Antioch 65 (ot): One of the area’s best rivalries went to the Bulldogs in overtime on Friday. James Mobley had 20 points in the win while Danny Brito scored 15 for Antioch.
Wauconda 56, Lakes 52: This Friday result ended Lakes’ hopes of playing in the North Suburban Conference Championship Game. Ricky Sidlowski, a 6-7 center, had 13 points for the winners. Jake Balliu had 12, Ethan Sage 11 and Ben Haviland 11 for Lakes.
Stevenson 102, Mundelein 47: On Friday, Ryuji Aoki hit seven threes and scored 30 points in the Patriots’ victory. Jalen Brunson had 20 points and Connor Cashaw 15.