Warren’s Adam Panek doesn’t rest. He knows his career could be winding down. ‘I want to keep it going.’

Most of Warren’s starters got plenty of rest Wednesday night. Adam Panek wasn’t one of them.

The Blue Devils went to their deep bench often, but the 6-foot-5 senior forward didn’t come off the floor until the final minute of their Class 4A Warren Regional semifinal against North Suburban Conference rival Mundelein.

“Our team prides itself with being well-conditioned,” he said. “I didn’t mind staying out there the whole game. We have a lot of good players on our bench, too, so that we can put in guys who will keep us going so there is no letup.”

Indeed, neither Panek nor his teammates let up during eighth-seeded Warren’s 75-58 victory against the 10th-seeded Mustangs in Gurnee.

Panek scored a game-high 27 points and had nine rebounds for the Blue Devils (18-14), who will play top-seeded Libertyville in the regional championship game on Friday, and two key bench players provided sparks in the second half to prevent a rally by Mundelein (12-19). Sophomore guard Javerion Banks had 16 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Adrian Jones had 13 points and six rebounds.

Panek recorded 15 points in the first half as Warren built a 35-23 lead. He scored on numerous post moves but also hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter.

“I’ve played on the outside most of my basketball career, but the last two seasons I’ve started to move inside,” he said. “This season I really concentrated on my post play, and it has been paying off.”

Warren coach Zack Ryan agreed that Panek’s inside game was a significant factor.

“When Adam plays that well in the post for us, it makes us a tough team to guard,” Ryan said. “I though overall we did a lot of good things in this win. We had a little bit of a slow start, but we got our offense going by moving the ball around and making the extra pass.”

Ryan was also pleased with his team’s defensive performance against Mundelein’s talented guard duo of sophomore Derek Bishop, who scored 20 points, and senior Emmanuel Willoughby, who had 12 points.

“They scored some, but not like they did the last time we played them, when they had something like 51 combined points,” Ryan said, referring to the Blue Devils’ 71-70 win on Jan. 31.

Warren will need another standout defensive effort against Libertyville (26-5), which won the North Suburban Conference title. Senior forward Aidyn Boone scored 20 points in the Wildcats’ 58-29 win against 16th-seeded Zion-Benton on Wednesday.

But the Blue Devils handed Libertyville its lone conference loss this season, winning 50-45 in Gurnee on Jan. 20.

“We did a good job against them in our gym the last time, so hopefully that’s something we can do again on Friday,” Panek said. “It will be tough going inside with someone as strong as Boone, but if we keep moving the ball around like we’ve been doing, we should be able to find our shots.”

Panek, who doesn’t know whether his career will continue after this season, will do his best.

“That’s why this postseason means so much to me because if we lose, I know my career is possibly over,” he said. “I want to keep it going with these guys as long as I can.”

Darren Day is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.