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Seffner Wins It At The Line

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By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

TAMPA - When his team missed 12 free throws in a 56-53 loss to rival Bayshore Christian in the Class 1A-District 10 tournament championship game two weeks ago, Seffner Christian boys basketball coach Roger Duncan vowed he would never see it happen again.

Since the loss, his players were not allowed to leave practice until they were able to make 75 free throws as a team.

Tuesday against Bayshore Christian in the Class 1A-Region 2 semifinals, those hundreds of shots in the gym paid off as Seffner made 19 of 22 at the free-throw line, including nine of 10 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, to hold on for a 64-58 win.

The Crusaders (16-12) advance to the region final, the farthest a team has gone in program history, and will play at Bradenton Christian on Saturday.

"It's great," said sophomore Steven Cunningham, who finished with 12 points and made all six of his free throws. "We couldn't have gotten this far without our coach. He's the greatest."

"We're going as far as we've ever gone now," said senior guard Jameson Self, who had a team-high 13 points. "We played for God and for our coach."

Seffner led 28-19 at halftime, but Bayshore Christian pulled within six heading into the fourth quarter and went on a 15-9 run in the first five minutes of the final quarter to tie it at 52. Sophomore Devin Paularinne, Seffner's leading scorer, sank a 3-pointer and made two free throws for a 57-54 lead with 1:41 remaining.

"Paularinne struggled for three quarters, then he comes off the bench and hits a bomb," Duncan said.

Bayshore (19-9) was forced to foul, and the Crusaders sealed the game at the free-throw line.

"We missed free throws, and we lost a little bit of our composure," Bayshore Christian coach Don Pippin said. "Seffner is very disciplined."

Six-foot-4 sophomore Fred Lewis scored 15 of Bayshore's 21 fourth-quarter points to keep the Faith Warriors in the game. He finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.

"They played good defense, don't get me wrong, but I tried hard to get open all game and I got open in the fourth quarter," Lewis said. "I had to do it for the seniors."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

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