Madison conquers Edinburg's challenge

SAN ANTONIO ? Madison was so impressed with its opponent?s effort that it gave Edinburg a standing ovation at the end of the game.

The polite gesture was about all the satisfaction the Bobcats would get for giving Madison a surprising battle before eventually falling 78-73 in a Class 5A Region IV semifinal at the UTSA Convocation Center on Friday night.

Madison will now have to get past District 26-5A rival Wagner, a 93-64 winner over McAllen, in the regional final if it is to make a second consecutive trip to the state tournament. The two have faced off three times this season with Wagner winning two of the meetings.

Edinburg matched the Mavericks? (32-7) size and athleticism with speed and scrappiness ? and the combination almost paid off. The Bobcats (32-4) shot close to 50 percent from the field and trailed by just a 38-31 margin at the half.

Charlie Harper and Roshun Jackson came out on a tear to start the second half, scoring 13 of the Mavericks? 17 point to push Madison?s advantage to 55-40 with less than three minutes to play in the third.

But Edinburg refused to go down without a fight and got a spark from Jonathan Chapa. Chapa buried a pair of NBA-range treys in the fourth, the second getting the Bobcats within 61-58 three minutes into the fourth.

Yet Madison pulled away by slowing the pace and dumping the ball inside to Harper, who notched a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and with Jackson. The two combined for 41 points and 18 rebounds, despite sitting for most of the second quarter because of foul trouble.

Noe De La Rosa, who chipped in 14 for Edinburg, got the Bobcats within five with less than two minutes to play, but Madison iced the game from the free throw line.

Chapa finished with a game-high 24 points.

Date of Article: Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:20 am