WARRENSBURG - Round about the second quarter, the PA announcer at Warrensburg-Latham ran out of ways to holler Dennie Whitlow's name as he put in another basket, which was unfortunate, because Whitlow kept scoring.

The junior forward set the nets ablaze with 36 points, and the Cardinals ousted rival Maroa-Forsyth from the playoffs with a 79-68 victory on Wednesday.

Warrensburg earned a rematch with Mount Pulaski in Friday's regional championship game, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Whitlow has a shooter's touch, but he didn't need it much. A majority of his points came on a variety of layups. The longest shots he made all night might well have been his six free throws.

Warrensburg scored points in bunches, and essentially beat the run 'n gun Trojans at their own game.

"They send a guy (deep). No one's done that to us," Maroa guard Josh Jacobsen said. "They had probably 14 points on them sending someone, and that's the game right there."

Whitlow caught Maroa napping a handful of times, leading to some easy points.

"We wanted to walk it up on offense and run once we got a rebound or look to go deep," Warrensburg coach Vic Binkley said. "They brought so many guys up, and we knew Dennie down deep could do some damage, and he did."

The Cardinals (20-8) opened up a nine-point halftime lead, thanks to late second-quarter spurt. They never lost the lead in the second half, thanks in large part to a 66 percent shooting night.

As hot as Warrensburg was, the game could have gotten out of hand quickly. It might have, too, if not for Jacobsen's stellar effort.

Jacobsen, playing on a severely sprained ankle, turned in a career night. His 27 points - including six 3-pointers - kept Maroa (23-5) in position to make a fourth-quarter run.

"I don't go into a game expecting to shoot that much at all, especially with the guys we have," Jacobsen said. "Really, I was the only offense there for a while, so you've got to put up shots when you're the only one making stuff."

Jacobsen's steal and subsequent lay up sparked an 8-0 Maroa run midway through the fourth quarter, slicing Warrensburg's once comfortable lead to three points.

"You can't ask anymore from that kid. "He won't be able to walk (today)," Maroa coach Chad Cluver said. "We knew once that he started, he wasn't going to feel it anymore. But you can't ask anymore of that kid."

But Whitlow - who else - stemmed the tide with a key lay up. The Trojans cut the lead to three once more after that, but got no closer.

"Eventually we needed stops, and we were just too dead tired," Cluver said. "Give them credit, they executed well. We couldn't get over the hump, and we put ourselves in that situation, too."

Jacobsen set the pace for Maroa, but the Trojans waited just a bit too long to match it.

"I was telling everyone else, I could care less how well I do individually," Jacobsen said. "Really, this is not even bittersweet. It's all bitter."

Warrensburg, meanwhile, has another shot at redemption. The Cardinals beat Maroa on their third try. On Friday, they'll get a second shot at Mount Pulaski, which won by 10 points on Dec. 17.

"We knew it was do or die. Our guys we played well together and we played with a lot of confidence tonight," Whitlow said. "It was a lot of heart and determination that helped us in the long run."

Mount Pulaski 64, Bloomington Central Catholic 60

As Mount Pulaski senior waded through a throng of Hilltopper fans, one asked if he'd be interested in coming back on Friday.

Blaum, grinning, responded, "I'll see what my plans are."

The 6-foot-6 senior scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, which enabled the Hilltoppers (19-9) to squeeze past Central Catholic, the No. 2 seed in the sub-sectional.

The game featured nine ties and 11 lead changed before Blaum erupted for eight straight points, giving Mount Pulaski a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"I was just wanting to keep going to the basket strong," Blaum said.

Blaum struggled up until that point, but Mount Pulaski coach Jim Jumper had a feeling the center would respond.

"Our kids were tired at practice (Tuesday) night, especially Josh," Mount Pulaski coach Jim Jumper said. "He and I talked about it on the bench and he stepped it up and I thought did an excellent job."

If Blaum's play but the Hilltoppers over the hump, Dan Gleason's 21 points allowed them to keep sparring with the Saints.

Mount Pulaski will play Warrensburg on Friday and aims for its first regional title since 1998.

Todd Engle can be reached at tengle@;herald-review.com or 421-7970.