The fun begins when Warren freshman Jaxson Davis decides to drive to the basket. Anything can happen. It usually isn’t what is expected, but it almost always ends in the Blue Devils’ favor.
It’s just two months into Davis’ high school career, but the game has slowed down a beat for him. He’s seeing two or three steps ahead of everyone else on the court.
“When he has the ball everything happens,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said. “Guys get baskets. He gets his teammates wide open shots and layups.”
Davis made two free throws to give the No. 9 Blue Devils a four-point cushion with 15 seconds left to play on Saturday in Gurnee. It was just enough to hold off Connor May’s three-pointer at the buzzer and beat Palatine 57-56.
Davis finished with 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block. He committed one turnover. The 6-1 guard has been one of the area’s best players since the season began and was the first freshman to ever win the Proviso West Holiday Tournament’s MVP.
“He’s special,” Ryan said. “And now he’s starting to lead more and keep his composure and do the little things that are hard as a freshman. He kept us together at the end when we were turning it over and giving away the lead. Maybe a month ago, he’s not like that.”
Davis was the youngest and smallest player on the court Saturday. And the best. Ryan made Davis the team captain two days ago.
“I’m feeling very comfortable,” Davis said. “We haven’t been playing well lately so it was big to come out with the win tonight but we need to be better.”
Warren (22-4) shot 7-for-13 from three-point range in the first half and led the Pirates 33-21.
“We haven’t shot the ball well pretty much since [late December],” Ryan said. “So we are trying to defend and play hard to win games. So tonight it was nice to find some flow and rhythym offensively.”
May (24 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and sophomore Tony Balanganayi (12 points, six rebounds) led the charge to get Palatine (18-7) back in the game.
The Blue Devils committed 18 turnovers in the game, generally on possessions where Davis didn’t touch the ball.
Palatine’s Connor May (21) heads to the basket.
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
“Sometimes you just have to keep it simple,” Ryan said. “Just get the guy the ball that makes things happen for all of us. It’s a process. We have other guys that can do things but our team is obviously better when things run through [Davis].”
Senior Alex Daniels had 10 points and five rebounds for Warren and sophomore Braylon Walker added nine points. The Blue Devils picked up a major conference win against Lake Zurich on Friday night and are now tied for second in the North Suburban conference with the Bears, just one game behind Lake Forest.
“We can go on a good streak over this last month of the season and make a run at state,” Davis said. “We’ve learned from some of the ups and downs so far this year.”