Boys Basketball: Shorthanded Warren overpowers Mundelein

Updated: December 10, 2011 12:10AM

Warren proved on Friday that while there are substitutes for suspended players, there is no substitute for aggressive defense.

It was that defense that enabled the shorthanded Blue Devils to rout previously unbeaten Mundelein 61-45 in a key North Suburban Lake matchup.

No. 2 Warren (6-1, 2-1) did it without several suspended players, including star Darius Paul and sixth man Roman Schultz.

The remaining players raised the level of their games, especially point guard Jameris Smith.

The senior shadowed Mundelein’s high-scoring Robert Knar and held him to 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting, including 1 of 8 from behind the arc.

“Jameris played great at both ends,” Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. “Defensively ... with assists ... he played a great game. You couldn’t ask for much more.”

Warren was coming off a 44-43 loss to Stevenson, a game in which all the Blue Devils players were available.

“After the Stevenson loss, we had a team talk at practice the next day,” Smith said. “We were not all on the same page. We talked with the coaches and worked out our roles.

“My role is to be a defensive stopper and run the offense — passing the ball and making good decisions — and focus on being a floor leader.

The role of 6-9 Nathan Boothe is to dominate in the paint, which he did on Friday with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Sean O’Brien scored 13 points for Mundelein (7-1, 2-1), which shot 16 of 53 from the field, including 3-of-22 from three-point range.

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