advertisement

Lake Forest whites out Warren in second quarter

All dressed in tightfitting white, aptly named Shayne White was quite the sight Friday night.

Warren's thick senior forward wore a white, long-sleeved, skintight T-shirt under his white jersey. His white, skintight knee pads attempted to complement his white basketball trunks.

White looked like he had gotten caught in a snowstorm.

His teammates thought the look was, well, all right.

“They like it, actually,” said White, flashing his pearly whites.

This wasn't a pretty sight for Warren: 0 points in the second quarter against visiting Lake Forest.

At game's end, the scoreboard wasn't any prettier for the Blue Devils.

Lake Forest pulled out a 36-28 win in the North Suburban Lake Division showdown. The Scouts weren't complaining considering they had been allowing about 50 points a game and had lost a close one to Zion-Benton last week.

“We played well defensively,” coach Phil LaScala said. “We challenged the guys about playing 'D,' and they worked hard the last couple of days.”

Lake Forest's twin towers, 6-foot-7 sophomore Evan Boudreaux and 6-9 senior Sam Downey, led the way for the Scouts. Boudreaux scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. The Yale-bound Downey had 12 points and 9 boards.

Downey credited his team's help defense for the victory.

“We knew they did a lot of ball screens,” he said of the Blue Devils. “They were successful, so we needed to help a lot and just stop their penetration.”

Aarias Austin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Warren (6-4, 2-2) up 8-6 late in the opening quarter, but the Blue Devils struggled from the arc the rest of the game. They finished 3 of 22 from three-point range and, overall, shot 9 of 40.

“I thought we took some hurried shots, and I thought our shot selection was poor, especially in the fourth quarter,” Warren coach Ryan Webber said. “I just thought we played like every shot we took was worth 5 or 6 points.”

White fought with all his might, despite being under the weather — hence, his long sleeves and tights. Generously listed at 6-2, the 220-pounder yielded several inches under the basket to Boudreaux and Downey but managed to muscle up shots and secure rebounds.

“He was playing with the flu,” Warren forward Dre'Von Hill said of his teammate. “He kept the momentum up for us.”

White came off the bench to score 7 points (tying Adrian Deere for team-high honors) and hustling for 9 rebounds. Five of his boards were at the offensive end.”

“I wanted to give some extra hustle, just effort,” White said. “I've been struggling scoring the last couple of games. I just wanted to hit the offensive boards and get a couple of points.”

“He really battled,” Webber said. “I was really proud of him.”

Mitch Cygan (6 points) finished a dish from Austin (4 assists), and White completed a three-point play with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter to put Warren up 28-27. But the Blue Devils didn't score again.

“The shots just weren't falling for us,” said Hill, who had 8 rebounds. “We got a lot of open shots. Our defense was there, but our offense just wasn't on like it usually is.”

Downey scored Lake Forest's lone 3 field goals in the fourth quarter, and George Quall sank 3 of 4 free throws in the final 35 seconds, as the Scouts closed the game with a 9-0 run.

“They're still a really good team,” Downey said of the Blue Devils. “It's a big win. They're going to be successful down the road.”

Warren's second-quarter blues included 0-of-11 shooting (0 of 6 from the arc). The Blue Devils turned the ball over 13 times against mainly man pressure.

“I thought our kids really battled and scrapped against a huge size disadvantage across the board,” Webber said. “That's as big a high school team that you're going to see.”

Images: Lake Forest vs. Warren, boys basketball

  Warren’s Adrian Deere shoots over Lake Forest defender Evan Boudreaux in Gurnee on Friday. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Warren’s Derek Mason leaps for a rebound against Lake Forest defender Ben Simpson in Gurnee on Friday. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.