Blue Devils

Duke and Denver will join Cornell and top-seeded Syracuse in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse Final Four this weekend at Lincoln Financial Field. David Lawson scored his career-best fifth goal with 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining to lift seventh-seeded Duke to a 12-11 win over No. 2 Notre Dame (11-5) in the quarterfinals Sunday in Indianapolis. In their seventh consecutive trip to the Final Four, the Blue Devils (14-5) will play Cornell at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Linc. Duke won the national championship in 2010.

Guards Kelly Williams and Scott Nance provided the one-two punch for Ewing High on Wednesday as the Blue Devils beat Bishop McDevitt 57-50 to win their own tournament in Trenton. Williams pumped in a game-high 24 points on 9 field goals (including a 3- pointer) and 5-for-5 shooting from the free-throw line, and was named the Ewing Blue Devil Holiday Classic's most valuable player. Nance tallied 13 points to become the only other Ewing player in double figures for the evening. McDevitt (5-4)

Former NBA player Bryan Warrick, who starred in football and basketball at Burlington Township, has been named the boys' basketball coach at rival Burlington City. The former St. Joseph's University basketball standout replaces Bob Williams, who resigned in August to accept an assistant principal's job at Pemberton. Williams compiled a 228-124 record at Burlington. Last year the Blue Devils went 22-8 and won the South Jersey Group 1 championship. The 36-year-old Warrick played parts of four seasons in the NBA after a successful career at St. Joseph's.

Perennial public-school powerhouse Westfield dethroned Cherry Hill West in the Public A boys' swimming state championship yesterday at the College of New Jersey. Behind Chris DeLaFuente's wins in the 100 and 200 freestyle events, Westfield (12-0) avenged last year's state-final loss to Cherry Hill West with a 91-79 victory. The Blue Devils won seven of 11 races. Jason Mattingly paced the Lions (12-1) with individual wins in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

Burlington City was one of the surprise success stories last season. Coach Bob Williams had hoped to break even with an inexperienced squad. The Blue Devils did more than that. They won the Freedom Division and went all the way to the Group 2 championship game, losing to Middle Township, 67-54. "We turned around our fortune last season," Williams said. "Last year we were able to play great pressure defense. " Williams isn't worried about experience as he looks to the new season.

Suddenly, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski senses something wrong happening. His 30-7 team arrives in Indianapolis today for its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance and fifth in the last six seasons. As always, there will be no controversy accompanying them, no NCAA charges. Heck, not counting North Carolina fans, there barely will be a Blue Devils detractor. Krzyzewski's players attend classes, graduate on time, stay out of trouble. Whenever an NCAA signing period rolls around, the program regularly restocks its vast riches.

Office pool-aholics across the land have become so accustomed to Duke's making it into the Final Four that it seems almost inevitable. Just move the Blue Devils along at least four lines and save your sleepers for another bracket. They might not always get it done once they get to the Final Four, but the Devils sure know how to advance that far. Four straight times, in fact, and five of the last six seasons. This season, the Devils seemed to be more of a lock than ever.

Although Burlington City basketball coach Bob Williams will have a youthful team to guide this season, he possesses plenty of offensive weapons. Can the Blue Devils parlay that talent into a second straight Burlington County Freedom Division championship? Only time will tell, Williams said. "We won't expect miracles at the start of the season because these are young players, but we're fully capable of having a winning season after they've been in game situations," Williams said.

The Penn men's basketball team will venture far from the Ivy League this season. Among the nonconference destinations for Fran Dunphy's Quakers is Durham, N.C., where they will play Duke on Dec. 7 in a game to be televised on ESPN2. The Quakers also will play at Hawaii, and at Brigham Young-Hawaii, in December.

The fairy tale ended abruptly last night. Penns Grove had leaped over Paulsboro and routed Riverside in early rounds of the South Jersey Group 1 boys' basketball tournament. But it couldn't stop Burlington City's duo in clutch situations at Kingsway High. Seniors David Price and Zakiee Chatman gave their Blue Devils teammates a spark every time they needed it to stop the Red Devils' storybook run at a title with a 64-57 victory. The Blue Devils (23-5) won their first sectional boys' basketball title since 2004 and their 22d overall.

Duke and Denver will join Cornell and top-seeded Syracuse in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse Final Four this weekend at Lincoln Financial Field. David Lawson scored his career-best fifth goal with 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining to lift seventh-seeded Duke to a 12-11 win over No. 2 Notre Dame (11-5) in the quarterfinals Sunday in Indianapolis. In their seventh consecutive trip to the Final Four, the Blue Devils (14-5) will play Cornell at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Linc. Duke won the national championship in 2010.

Valley Forge Military Academy's loss turned out to be Springside Chestnut Hill Academy's gain. "It was a good experience, but it just wasn't for me," Zach Jancarski said of his two-year stay at Valley Forge. "I mostly decided to go there because my dad [Dave] was a military guy and thought I should give it a try. " With the aid of Jancarski, now in his third year at Springside Chestnut Hill, the visiting Blue Devils crushed Penn Charter, 16-1, in five innings Friday to keep alive their bid for an Inter-Ac League championship.

Malvern Prep might not have the same overall talent as it did last season, when it went 31-5 overall and defended its Inter-Ac League baseball title. But things appear to be fine in the refuse-to-quit department. In Tuesday's Inter-Ac opener against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, the host Friars climbed out of a 6-0 hole and, with nine runs in their last two at-bats, somehow triumphed, 9-7, in 2 hours, 34 minutes. "We're young this year," Malvern senior catcher Steve Robinson said, "but there's a lot of scrappiness in this team.

Malvern Prep may not have the overall talent it had last season, when it went 31-5 and successfully defended its Inter-Ac League baseball title. But things appear to be fine in the refuse-to-quit department. In Tuesday's Inter-Ac opener against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, the host Friars climbed out of a 6-0 hole and, with nine runs in their last two at-bats, triumphed, 9-7, in 2 hours, 34 minutes. "We're young this year," Malvern senior catcher Steve Robinson said, "but there's a lot of scrappiness in this team.

With the bases loaded and nobody out Thursday afternoon, first-year Springside Chestnut Hill baseball coach Chris Lubanski called for senior righthander Mike Hayes and his devastating curveball. No one could touch his curve, Lubanski said, as Hayes fanned three straight batters in the seventh inning, and the Blue Devils held on to edge Perkiomen School, 13-12, in a nonleague game. "We had him in a few tight spots already and he's been controlled and poised every time," Lubanski said.

With the bases loaded and nobody out Thursday afternoon, first-year Springside Chestnut Hill baseball coach Chris Lubanski called for senior righthander Mike Hayes and his devastating curveball. No one could touch his curve, Lubanski said, as Hayes fanned three straight batters in the seventh inning, and the Blue Devils held on to edge Perkiomen School, 13-12, in a nonleague game. "We had him in a few tight spots already, and he's been controlled and poised every time," Lubanski said.

Duke has played parts of three NCAA tournaments in Philadelphia, and it has never lost a game. The sixth win came as Sunday night turned into Monday morning when the second-seeded Blue Devils sealed a 66-50 win over seventh-seeded Creighton in the round of 32 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Blue Devils advanced to play Michigan State in Indianapolis on Friday. It will be their fourth Sweet 16 in the last five seasons. It's not often that a Duke game is anticlimactic, but that's what happened when the Blue Devils took the court following the frenzy of Florida Gulf Coast's unexpected run. And the game featured a different style, too. It was a physical, grinding contest of attrition rather than a full-court highlight reel.

Amile Jefferson had never played at the Wells Fargo Center before. The last time he was in the building, Jefferson was a spectator, watching No. 3 Duke get upset by Temple, 78-73, on Jan. 4, 2012. Jefferson was a senior at Friends' Central then, fielding offers from some of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the country. A little more than a month later, he scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools boys' basketball tournament final, helping the Phoenix win their fourth straight title.

Duke's view is from the mountaintop of college basketball, an exclusive vantage point from which the excitement of merely advancing to the round of 32 is dampened by the understanding that more is required to meet expectations. For longtime coach Mike Krzyzewski to understand what Florida Gulf Coast or Harvard or any of the other Cinderellas are feeling, he must reflect on his time at Army or the early days of his Duke program. "I think it's helped me, now that I've had really outstanding teams for a long time, to always relate back," Krzyzewski said Saturday.

Duke has played parts of three NCAA tournaments in Philadelphia and has never lost a game. The sixth win came as Sunday night turned into Monday morning, when the second-seeded Blue Devils sealed a 66-50 win over seventh-seeded Creighton in the Midwest Regional at the Wells Fargo Center. Duke advanced to play Michigan State in Indianapolis on Friday. It will be the Blue Demons' fourth Sweet 16 in the last five seasons. It's not often that a Duke game is anticlimactic, but that's how it seemed when the Blue Devils took the court following the frenzy of Florida Gulf Coast's win. And the game featured a different style - a physical, grinding contest of attrition rather than a full-court highlight reel.