Warren basketball player Zach Ausburn seems to be made for this.
Once March arrives and the intensity increases — like in the double-overtime Class 4A Waukegan Sectional championship game against the host Bulldogs — the 6-foot-7 senior center is in his element, and anyone in his way is unceremoniously cast aside more often that not.
“This is my favorite type of basketball to play, just being able to be physical, hitting bodies all game,” Ausburn said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better — double overtime, fighting back through it all.”
The second-seeded Blue Devils couldn’t have asked for anything more from Ausburn, who scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds during their 70-60 win over top-seeded Waukegan on Friday.
“He’s an animal on the boards, and he was a stud for us tonight,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said.
Sophomore guard Jaxson Davis added 22 points and six assists for Warren (25-10), which won a sectional title for the second straight season while denying the rival Bulldogs (24-8) their first since 2010 and will play Rolling Meadows (30-4) in the NIU Supersectional in DeKalb at 7:30 p.m. Monday
“It was just a great, physical game,” Ausburn said.
Ausburn is as physical as they come, but not in a brawny way. He’s more like a pinball, careening in and out of tiny gaps, past and around opponents with a unique knack for getting the ball in his hands. When he reels in an offensive rebound, the ball often goes back up and through the net within a split second.
Half of Ausburn’s 10 baskets resulted from his work on the offensive glass, and several other offensive rebounds bought the Blue Devils additional chances in a game where every possession counted.
Ausburn’s final entry in the scoring column came on a three-point play that gave Warren a 66-58 lead with 52 seconds left in the second overtime period.
“It’s really impressive how he does that,” Davis said. “The way I’d describe him is tough and gritty. He just wants it.”
Ausburn has been on a mission since last season ended with a supersectional loss to Palatine. After watching that postseason run from the bench, Ausburn dedicated himself to becoming the player who is averaging a double-double on a team that weathered injuries and a merciless schedule with a target on its back.
“I prepared for this,” Ausburn said. “I don’t think I have to pinch myself, but it does feel surreal. This is something we’ve been working toward for a whole year, and once we won the other night, and knowing that we had lost to them (Waukegan) twice, this game was on my mind nonstop.”
The environment was electric in Waukegan’s jam-packed gym, and that, too, was something Ausburn prepared to face.
“You have to be able to clear your mind and be loose and free,” he said. “You can’t be worried about the noise. You just focus on yourself and how you have to play. All of the adrenaline gets you ready, and I wasn’t really fazed by it.”
Ausburn established himself early with 12 points in the first half, and the Blue Devils took a 31-24 lead into halftime after Davis hit a 35-footer from the left side at the buzzer. Waukegan stormed back, however, outscoring Warren 19-10 in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs led by four points twice in the fourth quarter, but Warren senior forward Jack Wolf’s layup with 46 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. No one scored in the first overtime period, but the Blue Devils led wire to wire over the final four minutes.
Ausburn’s basket and free throw in the last minute practically iced Warren’s win.
“He didn’t force anything and played under control,” Ryan said. “That’s really important for us, and it’s a testament to his maturity.”
To Ryan’s point, it’s almost inconceivable how someone can stuff the stat sheet like Ausburn does without a single set being run for him.
“I know I’m not going to really have any plays set up for me,” he said. “That’s just my role on the team. I know that if I’m going to have opportunities to score, I’m going to have to get offensive rebounds and put myself in position to get the ball into my hands.”
Ausburn will likely have to keep doing that for Warren to break through to the state semifinals in Champaign.
“As a team, we realized that loss last year was a feeling we never wanted to experience again,” he said. “From that point on, this summer, fall, up to this point, we’ve been working nonstop in the gym, doing everything we can to get further this year. A game like this will be a great springboard.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
