DEVILS LAKE — Anthony Touche Jr. had scored 45 points over the first two games of the Ramsey County tournament.
While they came close Friday, the Warwick Warriors were still without a win. The early going of Robert Lawrence’s tenure has been a challenge after losing the 2024-25 Region 2 Senior Athlete of the Year, Elijah Feather Jr.
“I actually talked to [Touche Jr.] about that,” Lawrence said. “I told him this year he’s got to carry more of a load and be responsible for the team, and step up and be that leader that we need.”
Warwick took a 66-60 loss to Carrington on Friday. The Warriors moved to Saturday’s seventh-place game, a sparsely-attended consolation matchup with Benson County (0-5) at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
Touche Jr. put on a show for the fans who were there. He exploded early for 28 points in the first half. He ended up leading the Warriors with 48 — helping them secure their first win of the season.
“I feel good,” Touche Jr. said. “We always push hard in practice. It was there, but the shots weren’t falling. But we made it work.”
After seven losses, Warwick found the win column for the first time since Lawrence’s hiring.
“It feels good that we got over that hump,” Lawrence said. “I like the same intensity that we brought today, that we played with all game [Friday]. And it showed today again, and we came up with the W.”
Touche Jr. maximized his skills in the first half. He got to the rim, hit two triples and knocked down free throws.
“He was a little more ready for today’s game,” Lawrence said. “He draws so much attention, we just have to utilize him in those ways to kind of create everything for our offense. And he does very well at that. He sees the floor and finds his open teammates and attacks the rim when he needs to, and finishes very well.”
Touche Jr. scored 11 in the first quarter and 17 in the second. Warwick took the lead with a 9-0 run in the first quarter and had a 40-31 advantage at halftime.
“I was just playing excited,” Touche Jr. said. “And I was ready. Some of the shots weren’t falling down, but that didn’t stop me.”
Touche Jr. was the only Warrior to get to the free throw line in the tournament until Aiden Black in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. He made his first 19 attempts, including his first eight on Saturday.
Late in the first half, he finally missed one.
“Somebody was chirping in behind me and said that was his first miss,” Lawrence said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know that.’ And he can go on streaks like that. He’s my leader.”
Touche Jr. finished 13-for-15 in the game and 24-for-26 from the stripe in the tournament.
Touche Jr. landed his third triple as part of an 11-point third quarter. He helped keep Warwick’s lead in double digits.
With not a lot of players on its bench, Warwick kept Touche Jr. out there for the whole 32 minutes. Benson County double-teamed him, and he started having trouble finishing drives. He went a significant portion of the fourth quarter without scoring.
“I was getting tired,” Touche Jr. said. “And the shots weren’t falling.”
Benson County cut the lead to six on a three-pointer by Aiden Rodriguez, a pesky player in his own right for the Wildcats.
Touche Jr. showed up again when it mattered. He hustled down the floor for a key layup, giving Warwick some breathing room. He landed two final free throws to secure a 72-61 win.
The Warriors supported Touche Jr.’s scoring with four triples: two by Kingston Fox, one by Ryland Redfox and one by Brandon Black. Fox had eight points, while Black had seven.
“Three games in three days, that’s always going to be tough for anybody,” Lawrence said. “And we tried to utilize our bench as best we can. And, I mean, the boys were ready. They were up for the task. And just glad we came up with the W in the end.”
Touche Jr. totaled 93 points over the three days — 21 more than the next-best scorer, Devils Lake’s Egan Laite. He was selected to the all-tournament team.
“We’re going to continue to play through him,” Lawrence said, “and look for him to do a lot of good things for our team.”
The 5-foot-10 guard is in his junior year. He said he’s improved his game by getting faster.
It’s a much-needed boost in production for Warwick after Feather Jr. graduated.
“I have to be the leader this year,” Touche Jr. said. “We had Elijah Feather Jr. last year; he was a good leader. He was a good mentor.”
Developed as an underclassman by former head coach Ryan Brown, Touche Jr. is now under Lawrence’s tutelage.
Onlookers still tell stories about how dominant Lawrence was in his playing days.
“He’s a good guy,” Touche Jr. said. “He’s always pushing us in practice. That’s a good improvement.”
Things looked somewhat bleak after Warwick lost 81-30 to North Star in the first round of the tournament on Thursday. But the Warriors went neck-and-neck with a Class A team in Carrington, then finally came out on top this past Saturday.
“It’s the first win. So we’ve got to keep winning, and keep the streak going and keep playing hard,” Touche Jr. said.
Warwick hosts Griggs/Midkota in a region matchup Tuesday. The Warriors open district play on the road against St. John on Friday.
“We’re going to get back to the drawing board,” Lawrence said. “There’s always things that everybody can improve on, and we’re going in the right direction. We’re going to continue going that way and fixing things that we need, and adjusting things as we go, just to be a competitive team night in, night out.”
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