Bulldogs beat Warren!

[NorthsideKaren]

At the buzzer! What a game!

[curious]

Those students that scalped their tickets for $30.00 - $50.00 each got robbed! Being there was PRICELESS!

[fedupinwaukegan]

Wish we'd been able to be at that game!! Is the writer of this piece related to Judy Masterson? Quite an opening line. They both, ahh, have interesting styles of ahhh, description. This final shot on youtube yet??


Bow WOW!
Dog Pound shakes to its foundation when Richmond its miraculous shot



March 14, 2009
BY DAVE MASTERSON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmasterson@scn1.com">dmasterson@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->

Somehow the storied Dog Pound still stands.

Anyone who was there Friday night would swear in a court of law that the old gym exploded in ecstacy when Jereme Richmond’s half-court shot nestled into the basket as the horn went off, giving the Waukegan Bulldogs a 71-69 sectional championship over the Warren Blue Devils.


RELATED STORIES
• Photos: March Madness

TOURNEY TRAIL

CLASS 4A

Tuesday’s Games

* At Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates — Glenbrook North vs. Waukegan, 8 p.m.

* At NIU — Dundee-Crown vs. Neuqua Valley

* At Chicago State University — Chicago Young vs. Chicago Hyde Park

* At ISU — Thornton vs. Belleville East

Friday’s Results

* Glenbrook North 67, Notre Dame 61

* Waukegan 71, Warren 69

* Dundee-Crown 51, St. Charles North 49

* Neuqua Valley 62, Naperville Central 55

* Chicago Young 55, DeLaSalle 52

* Chicago Hyde Park 68, Chicago Simeon 61

* Thornton 55, Marian Catholic 39

* Belleville East 76, Quincy 62

This is the kind of game teams win on the way to state championships; games that appear lost, then are miraculously won.

“You will never see anything like that again — ever — the rest of your life,” said Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw, speaking for everyone on the premises.

The chances of continuing their season looked dim for the Bulldogs after Warren superstar Brandon Paul (27 points), showing nerves of steel in the face of a screaming crowd, swished three consectutive free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining to give his team a 69-68 lead, and what appeared to be a trip to the supersectionals at Hoffman Estates on Tuesday. He had been fouled moments earlier throwing up a shot in a heady move behind the arc after getting his defender up in the air.

Then came the counterpunch from Paul’s fellow University of Illinois recruit. And bedlam.

The implausible ending came on Richmond’s birthday, and on a day in which he was sent home from school with a fever of over 100 degrees. He was so weak by game’s end that he had to be helped to the team locker room, where he replenished his body with liquids while his teammates cut down the nets in celebration of the team’s first sectional title since 2005.

“I never made a shot like that in a game,” Richmond, whose 31 points led all scorers said, once finally able to speak. “But I do practice it every day in practice. I hit about 3 of 10. So when Brandon made his three shots, I just ran to my spot.”

The spot was on the left sidelines at almost exactly half court.

After taking two timeouts in an unsuccessful attempt to ice Paul during his free throws, Ashlaw decided not to use his last timeout in the waning seconds.

“We just told them to push it,” he said. “We’re at our best when we’re scrambling and making plays. And that was a play for the ages. It’s what the game deserved. People will be talking about this for 25 years.”

The back-and-forth fourth quarter featured eight lead changes and more ups and downs than any Great America coaster. After Warren took the lead at 56-55 for the first time in the second half on a 3-pointer by David Duncan, neither team enjoyed more than a two-point advantage.

Waukegan appeared to have the game salted away with half a minute remaining when the Bulldogs, ahead 68-66, stole the ball and passed up court to sophomore Aaron Johnson who was all alone, but missed a cripple, setting up the Paul/Richmond dramatics.

“I can’t even express myself,” said a relieved Johnson. “I almost blew it for us.”

Another Waukegan underclassman, Akeem Springs, came up big in this one, scoring 8 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

“My dad told me I had to start stepping up,” he said, smiling.

The game featured two completely opposite quarters in the first half, with Warren streaking out of the gate to a 17-2 lead, led by Paul’s trio of treys, before the Bulldogs knew what hit them. The Blue Devils led after the first quarter 24-11. Waukegan then countered with a 10-0 on the way to a 23-4 second-quarter spurt, with Colin Nickerson (15 points on the night) scoring 11 in the eight-minute stretch. Waukegan went into halftime ahead 34-28.

The third quarter began the see-saw battle, with the Bulldogs leading 53-46 as the fourth quarter began.

In addition to Paul, Duncan (15 points) and Jake Anderson (12) finished in double digits in scoring. The Blue Devils finished its season at 23-6.

Richmond’s supporting cast, besides Nickerson, included Mike Springs (13) in double figures.

“Our kids played their hearts out,” said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey. “We had a bad second quarter, but we also had a good first quarter. To get down like we did against a team like Waukegan in their own gym, a lot of teams would have folded, but our kids kept their poise and kept fighting. I’m proud of them.”

“To make those three free throws like Brandon did under pressure was something,” said Ramsey. “Jereme just hit a big shot. If there was more time left, I’m sure Brandon would have made another shot to put us ahead. We just ran out of time.”

[fedupinwaukegan]

Cool. Sounds like he was completely in the zone.


Richmond's half-court shot stuns Warren
Waukegan's Jereme Richmond gets pounced on by Michael Springs after Jereme made a half court shot to win the game against Warren.
(Michael Schmidt/News-Sun)

March 13, 2009 BY MICHAEL O'BRIEN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:mobrien@chicagosuntimes.com">mobrien@chicagosuntimes.com</a><!-- e -->


An Illinois high school basketball legend was born Friday in Waukegan.

Waukegan junior and Sun-Times Player of the Year Jereme Richmond, battling a 103-degree fever on his birthday, stopped at the half-court line with three seconds left and his team trailing by one point.

Class 4A playoff brackets This was one for the ages

While the entire gym wondered while he was stopping with so much time left, Richmond calmly elevated and drained the game-winning shot. He was on the left sideline and had one foot on each side of the half-court line. The shot gave Waukegan a 71-69 win over Warren and the Class 4A Waukegan Sectional title.

Warren guard Brandon Paul, with tears streaming down his face, described it best:

“I looked at his face when he got the ball and I got scared. He had no expression on his face. It was like he knew he was going to make it before he even shot it.”

Paul had just made three free throws to give the Blue Devils a 69-68 lead.

“I knew he was going to make the free throws,” Richmond said. “And I made sure I got the ball on the inbound play.”

Paul came down into the Waukegan locker room after the game to share some words and a hug with Richmond. Both players are Illinois recruits.

“Great shot, man,” Paul told Richmond. “Go to state and represent us.”

Richmond finished with 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting along with 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He scored 15 in the fourth quarter, including Waukegan’s last 11 of the game.

“He’s just an amazing player and I can’t wait to play with him in college,” Paul said.

Richmond said he practices that exact half-court shot regularly.

“I’ll usually shoot that 10 times in practice and make about three,” Richmond said. “I’ve never made anything like that in a game though.”

Paul finished with 27 points and seven rebounds for Warren (23-6).

Colin Nickerson scored 15 for Waukegan (24-4) and Mike Springs added 13.

Warren led 19-4 in the first quarter but the Bulldogs stormed back with a 21-0 run in the second quarter. Waukegan led throughout the third, but the fourth quarter contained eight lead changes.

[Busboy]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSReiWPUEOs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSReiWPUEOs</a><!-- m -->

[fedupinwaukegan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSReiWPUEOs

Wow, thanks for that. Electric