Madison Park survives

No. 1 bops Brockton in overtime

By Dan Ventura | Wednesday, March 3, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |

The MP Machine barely earned an all-expenses paid trip to the Garden.

Jamal McCollum scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, while Kevin Stokes hit two pressure free throws in the final seconds as Madison Park frittered away a 19-point halftime lead before defeating Brockton, 77-72, in overtime in a Division 1 South semifinal last night at BC High.

The top-seeded Cardinals (20-1) will play Mansfield for the sectional title Friday night at the Garden.

Despite losing floor general Spencer Braithwaite to fouls with 48.5 seconds left in regulation, Madison Park opened the extra session on a 10-0 run to take a 71-61 lead. The Boxers would get as close as 73-72 on a Kyle Houston tip-in, but Tyler Pettus and Stokes each hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal for the Cardinals.

“I knew it was time to take it home or go home,” Stokes said. “I just went to the (free throw) line like we do in practice.”

Madison Park dominated the second quarter to take a commanding 41-22 lead into the half. Despite not having star center David Campbell (17 points, 11 rebounds) for most of the half due to fouls, the Cardinals relied on forwards McCollum, Khayree Hudson (nine points, 10 rebounds) and Jamil Moquette (eight rebounds) to dominate inside.

“David just told me to keep working hard,” McCollum said. “He was telling to keep everything alive.”

No. 4 Brockton (19-4), which rallied from a double-digit deficit in a quarterfinal win against Marshfield, got going in the third. The Boxers forced 12 turnovers and climbed back into the game behind Houston (18 points), ending the third quarter on a 16-4 run to trail 47-40.

The Boxers kept coming in the fourth, tying the score at 61 on a pair of Leonardo Medina free throws with 48.5 seconds left.

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