No. 5 Brooks holds off Curie; advances to Final

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Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011
11:12 p.m.

By Michael O'Brien
YourSeason.com

Curie and Brooks treated the fans watching the Public League playoffsemifinals to some spectacular basketball for 3 12 quarters on Wednesday at DePaul.Both teams ran at a breakneck pace, and then Curie ran right into a wall. The Condors held the ball for a three-minute stretch at the end of the game, daring the Eagles and coach Bobby Locke to come out of their zone defense.Locke never budged, and No. 10 Curie started back up with 27 seconds to play. Curie didnt manage to get a shot off on two of its final three possessions and the No. 5 Eagles walked away with a 63-60 win and a trip to the city championship game Friday at Chicago State.When I saw them stalling I knew it was a train wreck waiting to happen, Locke said. I felt they had the momentum at that point and I knew the stall would tighten them up. It puts all the pressure on them. (Curie coach Mike Oliver) is a great coach, but I was confident as the clock was running down.Brooks senior Keith Grays basket with seven seconds to play gave the Eagles a 63-60 lead. Josh Baston had a chance at a game-tying three for Curie at the buzzer, but the shot didnt fall.I was going to dish that ball off, said Gray. But I saw I had an open path to the basket so I just went for it.Senior guard Mike Powell led Brooks (21-3) with 24 points and Keith Gray added 15 points and six rebounds.I was looking over at coach while they were stalling, Powell said. I really thought we should go out and guard them and make them play. He made the right call though, it all worked out for the best.Devin Foster led the Condors (26-2) with 19 points. Paris Burns added 13 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Greg Travis also scored 13.Its our time, Gray said. Weve fallen short of this the last few years, but we are seniors now and we knew it was our last chance to step up and make our mark.Brooks will face the winner of the Young vs. Simeon semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Chicago State.

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