Chamberlain takes crown thanks to 13-0 run

Chamberlain turned a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead with a 13-0 run.

By KEITH NIEBUHR Times Correspondent
Published December 29, 2006

TAMPA - While scouting Chamberlain, Leto coach Todd Price discovered the Chiefs had a penchant for putting together incredible scoring bursts in a short time. So he warned his players against allowing one of those spurts before Thursday's Chamberlain Holiday Tournament final.

But it happened anyway.

And it cost the Falcons dearly.

In a 21/2-minute stretch midway through the third quarter, Chamberlain turned a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead with a 13-0 run keyed by forward Carlos Figueroa. The Chiefs never looked back en route to a 59-49 victory.

"That's a credit to them," Price said. "Chamberlain is a great-coached team."

Chamberlain (12-1) has won 40 of its past 45 since the start of the 2005-06 season. Leto fell to 9-4.

"That was a good game," Chamberlain coach Doug Aplin said. "I love the way we play, but I also love the way (Leto) plays. They're fun to watch."

Before Chamberlain's game-changing run, Leto had a solid rally of its own. Once behind 20-9, the Falcons quieted the Chamberlain faithful with a 20-4 run that began with 5:07 left in the second and ended with a deep 3-pointer by Michael Perez at 6:24 of the third. The Chiefs looked a bit flustered, but regrouped largely because of Figueroa.

"He really made some tough shots off the block," Price said.

With the Chiefs ahead 30-29, Figueroa nailed a short jumper, produced layups on each of Chamberlain's next two possessions, then drained a 3-pointer.

"I felt like we had to score and really concentrate," said Figueroa, who scored a game-high 22 points.

After Chamberlain's run, Leto hung around by making some pretty clutch shots of its own. But down the stretch, Chiefs guard Dantavis Adkins hit 9-of-10 free throws to ice it.

In the third-place game, Gaither defeated Blake, 57-55. The Cowboys (7-4) led most of the game but struggled at the free-throw line in the final quarter to keep Blake (7-5) in it. The Yellow Jackets missed a shot with time running out that would have forced overtime.

Kornilous Donnell led Gaither with 21 points. Ryan Davis scored 21 for Blake.

"Blake's a very good team, so it was a good win in that sense," Cowboys coach Dwayne Olinger said.

All-tournament team

Rudy Jean, East Bay

Justin Gist, Newsome

Ryan Davis, Blake

Kornilous Donnell, Gaither

Michael Perez, Leto

Shawn Camacho, Leto

Mike Plummer, Chamberlain

Carlos Figueroa, Chamberlain

Dantavis Adkins, Chamberlain

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 23:22:05]