Game 94: United Township vs. Warren (Boy's Basketball)

Game 94
United Township vs. Warren (Boy's Basketball)
Galesburg Martin Luther King Tournament
(1/15/11)

The (Gurnee) Warren Blue Devils are state ranked at #4 this week in the Class 4A state rankings.  Their two losses are to Lake Forest Academy (by 4 points in 1st game of the season) and Simeon (8 points).  At the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, Warren beat United Township handily.



It appeared the result would be the same as late-December as the Blue Devils took a 23-10 lead out of the gates.  Warren had balanced scoring in that initial eight minutes.  Nathan Boothe (6'8" Jr.) had 6 points, Jeremiah Jackson (6'5" Sr.) had 4 points, Brandon Ferguson (6'2" Sr.) had 4 points, Darius Paul (6'6" Jr.) had 4 points, and Tanner Erbach (6'3" Sr.) had 3 points in the 1st quarter.

Warren would move on to outscore United Township in every quarter, 15-14 in 2nd quarter, 16-11 in 3rd quarter, and 13-7 in 4th quarter to win 67-42.  In all, 6 players scored in double-digits, with four of them from the Blue Devils.

Scoring
Nathan Boothe (Warren): 13 points
Jeremiah Jackson (Warren): 11 points
JoVaughn Gaines (Warren):  11 points
Tayvian Johnson (United Township): 11 points
Damon Overton (United Township): 10 points
Tanner Erbach (Warren):  10 points

Family Ties
Darius Paul is the younger brother of former Mr. Basketball Brandon Paul, now playing at the University of Illinois. 

More Hospitality
After the game, there was a 45-minute break before the second session started with the Minooka/Marian Catholic game.  I headed down to the hospitality room to fill out my scorebook and have another bottle of water. 

I talked with P.A. Announcer Gary Mitchell in the hospitality room.  I am a slacker compared to Gary, who did the P.A. on all 8 games, while I come in 2nd with just 6 games today.  We talked sports and how he is looking forward to baseball season.  He noted that baseball and wrestling are his favorite sports, and mentioned that he was the first-ever Heavyweight to letter in Wrestling at Galesburg High School. 

Conversation With Scott Tanaka
I wasn't going to include the conversation I had with Minooka coach Scott Tanaka, but upon Galesburg's huge win later in the tournament against Warren, I felt it worthy of mention.  Tanaka asked me about the Silver Streaks season and what their record was.  After saying it was 15-3, he said that was pretty impressive.  He then asked about the schedule and the wins and losses for the team this season.  I noted that their hasn't been a "benchmark" victory, yet.  While the win over Class 2A #1 Teutopolis was a really nice win, I wouldn't consider it a benchmark win for a Class 3A team.  Their have been several nice wins, including the win AT Quincy, but again, not a benchmark win in 2010-11.  Tanaka then said; "They have their opportunity to get that win tonight," in regard to their game against 4A #4 Warren.  Galesburg would execute a perfect game plan against the Blue Devils, get that benchmark win, and should appear in the Class 3A top ten this week.