By Dan Ventura / Boys Basketball | Saturday, February 27, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
Boston English had Milton on the ropes late in the first half, but the inability to apply the knockout punch proved lethal.
The defending Division 2 state champions rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat the visiting Bulldogs, 73-67, in a South sectional quarterfinal last night. D.J. Santos led the way for the Wildcats (18-4) with 26 points and 10 assists, while Emanuel Hutcherson added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Boston English (14-9) controlled play for most of the first half, building a 36-21 lead on the strength of 11 points by Antonio Jones and nine points from Alex DoSouto. But when DoSouto went to the bench with two fouls, Milton scored the final nine points of the half to cut the deficit to 36-30 at the break.
“I felt like if we didn’t get back in the game at the end of the half, we were never going to get back in,” said Santos. “Getting that run gave us a lot of momentum going into the second half.”
Milton was able to slow down English in the second half, using a zone which curtailed the Bulldogs’ 3-point shooting. The Wildcats evened the score at 48 by the end of the third quarter, then took the lead for good when Mike Grant opened the final stanza by knocking down a trey.
“We don’t usually play a zone, but give credit to my assistant coach (Bill Donovan) for that,” said Milton coach Sean LoPresti. “He suggested we switch from a man to zone and it worked for us.”
Milton stretched the lead to 11, but three trifectas from DoSouto (21 points) made things interesting in the final minute. But the Wildcats survived by making 9-of-11 free throws at the end.
In Div. 1 South quarterfinal action, Brockton guard Kyle Houston scored 15 points to lead the fourth-seeded Boxers by No. 5 Marshfield, 54-50. . . . Tyler Pettus scored 18 points and dished out eight assists as No. 1 Madison Park (19-1) defeated North Attleboro, 80-61.
In Div. 2 North, guard Rakeem Shepherd piled up 26 points to help No. 6 Dracut (17-5) upset third-seeded Belmont, 89-84.
In a Div. 2 South quarterfinal, Rodney Beldo scored 29 points as No. 3 Scituate (17-4) defeated Wellesley, 71-54. . . . T.J. Champignie has 19 points to lead No. 1 Whitman-Hanson (20-2) to an 85-82 win over No. 8 Hopkinton.
Senior guard Adam Lewin scored 20 points as No. 2 Wayland (16-5) advanced to the Div. 3 North semifinals with a 62-45 win over North Reading.
Junior Joe Mussachia scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as No. 3 Manchester-Essex (16-5) defeated Georgetown, 66-53.
School notes
The Massachusetts Independent Football Officials Association is announcing its spring class for new candidates beginning April 7 and running six consecutive on Wednesdays through May 12. Classes will be held from 7:15-9 p.m. at the Mansfield Elks, which is located on 140 North Main Street, Mansfield.
For additional information, please e-mail mifoa@aol.com or visit www.mifoa.org.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1235849
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