McConnell fights through pain to help Warren outlast Brandeis

Adrian McConnell spent the final 83 seconds on the Warren bench and needed crutches to stand up and walk away from it.

But he did not leave the game before making the shots that won it.

The Warriors’ 6-foot-8 forward — after rolling his left ankle while being fouled on a defensive rebound — stayed on the court long enough to sink two free throws in double overtime. They stood as the winning points for Warren, which outlasted Brandeis 61-58 in a District 28-6A matchup at Taylor Field House.

“It hurts,” McConnell said. “I had to fight through the pain and make it happen.”

McConnell, who has committed to Henderson State University in Arkansas, finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Fellow left-handed senior Brandon Rios scored 23 points off the bench for Warren (6-8, 3-0 district), which is tied for first place a year after narrowly missing the playoffs.

Brandeis (7-7, 1-2), last year’s district co-champion with Clark, nearly ruined the Warriors’ night. The Broncos forced overtime despite trailing by 13 points with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Roman Morgan led the comeback for Brandeis, going on a scoring spree after leading scorer Avery Theus went to the sideline when his head collided with the shoulder of a Warren player.

The 6-7 Morgan made consecutive 3-point plays and knocked down two 3-pointers during the final half of the fourth quarter, including a game-tying 3 with 3.1 seconds left in regulation.

Morgan poured in a game-high 29 points, scoring 27 after halftime.

“I tried to do everything I could, but I couldn’t do enough for the team,” Morgan said.

Theus, who did not play after the midway point of the fourth quarter, added 11 points for Brandeis. Cameron Davis scored 10.

Isaac Gamboa chipped in 12 points for Warren, which won despite an 18-of-35 showing from the free-throw line. Rios had a chance to win it at the end of the first overtime but missed two free throws with 1.4 seconds left.

McConnell helped take Rios off the hook by making 5 of 6 free throws in the second overtime, including his last four in a row. The final two came after he was bumped in the back of the head while jumping for a rebound and landed awkwardly on his ankle.

McConnell grimaced in pain while walking to the other end of the floor. But he made both shots, giving Warren a 59-53 lead.

The points proved critical after he reluctantly went to the bench.

“He’s a fighter,” Rios said. “We try to get him off the court, and he doesn’t want to. That’s just the person he is.”

adam.zuvanich@express-news.net

Twitter: @AZuvanich