BREMEN - It's been one memorable week for Chase Devine.
The Bremen High School basketball star capped it Friday, Feb. 13, with one more memorable performance.
Devine poured in a game-high 31 points to lead his Class 2A No. 7 Lions past Class 2A No. 15 Jimtown 61-54 in the Indiana Northern State Conference title game at Bremen.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore: Bremen varsity girls and boys basketball sweep Bi-County Tournament
Bremen improved to 18-1 overall and took the INSC crown in its second year of existence at 5-0. The Jimmies, who lost their third game in a row, dropped to 12-7 overall and finish at 4-1 in league play.
The junior Devine, a crafty, efficient guard, popped in 14 points in the final quarter as the Lions outscored Jimtown 20-11 to close out the win.
Devine, who averages 21 ppg., hit 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final frame. The Lions went 15-of-21 from the line, while Jimtown shot 5-of-6. Jimtown was whistled for eight fouls, along with a technical foul on their bench, in the fourth period to none for the Lions.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBremen, which lost twice to Jimtown a season ago including 54-40 in the sectional final, refused to let this one get away. The hosts trailed 43-41 entering the final period before Devine willed his team to a win and the league trophy.
Devine became the program's all-time leading scorer Tuesday night when he scored 20 points in a home win over New Prairie. He now has 1,309 points, ahead of previous record holder Corey Reed's career total of 1,262. Devine also celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday.
The soft-spoken, hard-working Devine, who should be a lock for the Indiana Junior All-Star team in the offseason, was all about the team.
"It's surreal," said Devine of the past week. "I'll always take winning trophies like tonight over any individual awards. The team accomplishments are way more important to me. And I don't get any of the individual things without my teammates.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"This is a big win tonight. I'm proud of my team. My teammates were great tonight. This is definitely a building block for us and a confidence booster going towards the sectional."
Devine, a hard-nosed 6-2 guard, put his team ahead for good with a tough baseline fadeaway with 1:32 to play to make it 53-52. The Lions then closed the game with an 8-2 run with Devine tallying all eight points from the free throw line.
The game was tied at 13-13 after the first period before Bremen took a 29-25 halftime lead. The Jimmies got a big third quarter effort from sophomore Dominic Fey and senior Will Spurgeon, as each netted seven points in the frame, to lead 43-41.
Fey was brilliant for the Jimmies in the tough loss. The sophomore guard canned 24 points, doubles his season average of 12 ppg. Spurgeon finished with 14 points, just below his team leading 17 ppg.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFirst-year Jimtown coach Ryan Varga praised his team but shook his head looking at his final stat sheet and the numbers from the free throw line for the Lions.
"It was a fight back and forth, and at the end of the day, I just feel for my kids because they fought their butts off tonight," said Varga, who previously coached at South Bend Washington. "Twenty-one to six attempts at the line is a huge discrepancy. It's not like we were not driving to the basket too. We were not allowed to touch anyone tonight. It's hard to guard like that.
"Bremen is extremely well coached and I have much respect for coach Miller. Chase is just so hard to guard. He's one of the best players in our area. He picks his spots and he's just one heck of a player.
"We will see them again. That's the beauty of March and the state tournament. Everything resets then."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJimtown, which went 16-11 a season ago and lost in the semi-state under coach Tyler Leighton, has just two seniors this season.
Bremen junior Chase Devine puts up a contested jump shot during a Bi-County Tournament semifinal boys basketball game vs. Triton January 23, 2026, at LaVille High School.Devine credits his three older brothers Bryce, Trevor and Grant for much of his success. All three played and Bryce is now the freshman coach for the Lions. His father Chris was also a standout player at Bremen.
"Before we played Elkhart last week, coach told me to see red and attack the hoop if the game was close," related Devine, whose team lost 54-53 to Elkhart in overtime on Feb. 7. "I feel like I let my team down in that game and was going to make up for it tonight.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"All the credit for my success goes to God first. But my ability to develop my mid-range game has made me tougher to guard. I got that playing against my older brothers because they were not going to let me drive it to the rim. They fouled me so hard when I played against them."
Bremen coach Matt Miller know he has a special one in his star guard.
"I thought the biggest key tonight was our response to their runs," said Miller, now in his sixth season at Bremen. "That and late in the game we got to the rim and drew contact. We were done shooting threes, and they got my message on that.
"Chase has a lot of ability, but he is so good because he puts more time into working on his game than anyone does in the state. He just soaks up everything too. I told him to see red and be relentless and he did. He's just a blessing to my life to coach him because of his attitude and everything else he brings to our team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"This win is huge and a shot in the arm for us. We got over the edge tonight, which was big for us. I love the final stretch of our schedule. They are all like tournament games. We need to play opponents like Jimtown to be prepared for March."
The Lions also got a strong efffort from 6-5 junior Riley Tener with 10 points and 6-3 junior Bryce Miller with nine points.
Bremen and Jimtown are both in the six-team Class 2A LaVille Sectional. The draw for the state tournament is on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. with sectional play starting Marh 3.
Bremen now owns trophies from the Bi-County Tournament, its first title there since 2008, and the INSC.
Bremen plays at Fairfield and Jimtown hosts Bethany Christian Tuesday night.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Bremen boys basketball team wins INSC title Friday night
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