Warren's road show continues with win at Mundelein
Playing on the road again, Warren's boys basketball team wasn't fazed Friday night.
The Blue Devils got big contributions from Andrew Dolan with a game-high 17 points, including 5 3-pointers in the second half, Adam Panek with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Cooper Stacey 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots as they rolled to a 53-36 victory over host Mundelein in a North Suburban Conference game on Friday night.
"We just got a couple of stops in a row and we were able to turn that into transition points," said Warren coach Jon Jasnoch, whose team has played just one home game this season.
"Once you get a little bit of a lead, you shoot a little bit at ease and more relaxed. We just got more defensive stops than (Mundelein) did. It just kind of builds as a grind-it-out basketball game. Then you can build the lead up."
Warren sits unbeaten in the NSC at 3-0 and has an overall record of 8-4. The Blue Devils had their game with Waukegan postponed earlier this week and haven't played since being in Pontiac over a week ago.
"This group works really well together and likes each other," Jasnoch said. "They've played together for a real long time going back to middle school. They're smart and they communicate. They just play basketball with a high IQ and have a lot of effort."
Mundelein (6-9, 1-3) had a 9-7 lead a couple minutes into the second quarter. Warren's Stacey made a couple of layups during an 11-2 run for a Blue Devils 18-11 lead at the break.
Dolan came out firing 3-pointers starting the third quarter and capped off Warren's 10-5 run that made the score 28-16 with 4:45 left.
"I was just feeling it and had a lot of confidence," Dolan said. 'We had a lot of momentum go our way. Everything was nice and fluent out there. It was a good team effort from everyone."
The Mustangs chipped away late in the third and trailed 33-25 going into the final quarter. Omari Rhinehart (team-high 10 points) made a layup that cut the lead to 33-27 early in the fourth. But the Blue Devils closed the game out with a 20-9 run for the difference.
Panek had one of his best games of the season on the boards.
"It's taken a lot of practice," Panek said. "It's all about positioning and strength. Once you get in there, get aggressive and get your position, you will get the boards."
Mundelein was without starter Chris Martin, who was out due to an injury sustained against Lake Zurich earlier in the week.
"We're just a team that's still trying to learn," Mundelein coach Matthew Badgley said. "Still trying to figure out the experience and we're getting a lot of experience from a lot of different things. We did get the game down to six. We blew a layup, had a turnover and gave up a couple of offensive rebounds. All of a sudden, it's a 12-point game. We just need everybody healthy for an extended period of time."