Free throws carry Chiefs

By ANTHONY GAGLIANO
Published December 27, 2005

TAMPA - James Devlin missed his career high for points, but it wasn't for a lack of shooting.

The left-hander went to the free-throw line 21 times Monday and made 17 en route to 29 points, helping host Chamberlain knock off Tampa Bay Tech 68-59 in the first round of the Chiefs' holiday tournament.

Devlin, who averaged 21.8 points as a junior last season, scored 36 a year ago in the City of Tampa tournament and was named second-team All-Suncoast by the Times.

"Never in my life," said Devlin when asked if he had attempted more free throws in a game.

He attempted more than the entire TBT team but wasn't the only Chief busy at the line. Chamberlain (8-2), which faces Riverview in a semifinal today, shot 28-of-41 from the line, a byproduct of its relentless fullcourt press. The press resulted in a fast pace and plenty of whistles.

The teams combined for 46 fouls with TBT (6-3) landing in the bonus before the second and fourth quarters.

"We have to play our pace and not the other team's," Devlin said.

The press paid its dividends against the Titans. Early in the second quarter, TBT led 26-12 and star Cecil Coleman, who matched Devlin with a game-high 29 points, was outscoring the Chiefs on his own, 13-12. But Chamberlain turned it around with its 2-2-1 fullcourt press, going on a 9-0 run.

The Titans landed in the double bonus before the third quarter ended, and Coleman couldn't carry his team. He fouled out in the final seconds. Earlier, center Evan Ravenel fouled out after being in trouble for most of the game.

Without Ravenel's inside presence, Chamberlain's Mo Lightburn pulled down 16 rebounds in addition to his 11 points.

"Naturally, when you get in foul trouble, it's going to change your strategy," TBT coach Adrian Johnson said. "It allows players who haven't played as much to play, and they're either going to step up or not."

Riverview slipped past Blake 48-47 behind the triumvirate of Nolan Ward, Marcus Pate and David Kovacs, who scored a team-high 11 points.

Sickles looked strong entering its semifinal against Leto at 4 p.m. today after coasting to a 63-49 win against Land O'Lakes. Senior Jason Page scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter to boost his team to a 12-point advantage.

The Gryphons (6-2) scored only six points in the second quarter but did not let the Gators (6-3) muster a comeback.

"It's not hard if you're making shots," Land O'Lakes coach David Puhlaski said. "We had too many turnovers and missed too many layups."

Develin Robinson had a team-high 12 points, including two 3-pointers, and John Weatherford added 11. Sickles had three players in double figures, and Tylor Albercht and Matt Johnson finished with nine points.

The Gryphons will have to stop a hot-shooting Falcons squad after Leto made nine 3-pointers to blitz Gaither 58-34. The Cowboys failed to score in the fourth quarter and gave up 18 points to Jovaughn Wade and 14 to Kelvin Daniels and Joelys Himely.

[Last modified December 27, 2005, 02:30:20]