One of Warren’s losses from last season was on Braylon Walker’s mind on Friday night.
The sophomore guard specifically remembered what Waukegan’s Nehemiah Dunn did in that game on Feb. 3, 2023.
“Last year at their place, he hit the game-winner off me and had 20-some points,” Walker said. “So ever since then, whenever we played them, I took it personally. I told myself then that next year that’s not going to happen.”
Walker made good on that promise in the Class 4A Warren Regional final on Friday. He held Dunn to three points as the top-seeded Blue Devils pulled away from third-seeded North Suburban Conference rival Waukegan and won 67-55 in Gurnee.
Freshman guard Jaxson Davis scored a game-high 25 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead Warren (29-4), which won its first regional title since 2012 and will play second-seeded DeKalb (23-7) in the Rockford Guilford Sectional semifinals at Rock Valley College at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Senior guard Joseph Worthington-White did everything he could to keep the Bulldogs (17-14) within striking distance, scoring a team-high 23 points, including six 3-pointers.
But Walker’s steady hand, in addition to his defense, helped Warren maintain its lead after taking a 33-28 advantage into halftime.
“He’s taken on that role of being our unsung hero, and our guys all know how important he is,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said. “He handles the ball, he has a high assist-to-turnover ratio and he doesn’t try to take too many shots. He’s just a really good team-guy, and we wouldn’t be where we’re at without him.”
As the Blue Devils milked the clock in the second half, Walker and Davis had almost exclusive custody of the ball. That meant cleanly executed possessions were the rule. Walker, who finished with four points, four rebounds and three assists, also showed an intuition to turn things over to Davis when he was positioned for one of his patented drives through the lane.
“We’ve been playing in these types of pressure games since fourth grade where we pass the ball back and forth,” Davis said. “We’ve been through a lot of battles that way. We have so many scorers on our team, so him being a guard that will be pass-first is extremely important.”
That’s not to say Walker can’t score. He entered the game averaging 5.1 points along with 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals.
“I’m like everyone else,” he said. “I love to get points on the board. But I’m a team-first guy. I feel like it’s really important for me to get my teammates involved so everyone can be happy.”
Walker, who has emerged as the Blue Devils’ top perimeter defender, came away happy with what he did on the defensive end. Dunn, a senior wing, remained scoreless until he hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left.
Becoming a stopper on defense has taken time for Walker, who started as a freshman last season.
“Earlier in the year, I used to get in foul trouble a lot, so now I try to move my feet more, watch the opponent’s stomach,” Walker said. “I was using my hands too much. I had to learn not to do that, and guarding Jaxson in practice really helped.”
That’s just another part of the learning process for Walker, who has figured out what the Blue Devils need from him.
“I feel like my job is to keep control of the game, make sure my teammates are getting involved and play tough both ways,” he said. “I’m a very unselfish player because it’s always team-first. I just want to win at the end of the day.”
There have been a lot of those days for the Blue Devils, who have won nine games in a row.
“This was a good win, but we’re not satisfied at all,” Walker said. “We’re trying to go down to Champaign and win state. We’ve been talking about that for a long time.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.