Melrose Falls in Semis to Brighton

The top ranked Melrose High School boys' basketball team saw their 22-game winning streak and playoff run come to an end Tuesday night in Woburn, losing 65-62 to no. 5 Brighton in the semifinals of the Division 2 North MIAA tournament.

With just a few ticks left on the game clock, senior captain Samual Jean-Gilles (16 points) hoisted a three pointer but the shot would not fall and Melrose's remarkable run ended just shy of the finals.

While Brighton (18-6) advances to the championship round to play either Wakefield or North Andover Saturday at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Melrose finishes the season with an overall record of 22-1. During the tournament, Melrose beat no. 16 ranked Arlington 76-52 in the first round and no. 8 New Mission 69-65 in the quarterfinals at home.

Moments after the game ended, Melrose coach Mike Kasprzak reflected on the battle with Brighton.

"Our kids really left it on the floor," he said. "We were scratching our head a little bit at times, but hey they are a great team. Best player in the state, two best shooters in the state, (and) everybody back from last year.

"We have three guys back from last year so we handled ourselves with great composure. Nobody thought one thing about this team. We were not in the top 20, (and) we were not even in the top four in our league. Twenty-two (wins) and one (loss) to lose to the best team in the state? We will take it."

Brighton coach Hugh Coleman, whose team has knocked off two unbeaten squads in Danvers and Melrose during the tournament, can only focus on the championship game and remarked how the off-season is a time to reflect on the team's achievements.

"Honestly at this point I take it in stride," said Coleman, coaching in his fourth season with the Bengals. "I don’t really get caught up with the record because in the tournament they were 2-0 and we were 2-0. You know what, the first team that wins six in a row wins it all. So, when the season is over we can look back, and maybe look at the Danvers game, and maybe this game and say 'wow, we beat an undefeated team, that’s special to come and knock them off.'"

Melrose had a difficult time trying to contain Brighton's junior duo of Nick Simpson (game-high 22 points) and Malik James (21), as they accounted for 66 percent of the Bengals's offense. The pair sparked Brighton's first-half offensive attack, as James scored eight markers in the first while Simpson scored eight of his own in the second to guide the Bengals to a 34-29 halftime lead over Melrose.

But, the Red Raiders showed their resiliency and rallied to take their first lead of the second half about two minutes into the third quarter when Jean-Gilles converted inside the lane. The Melrose faithful erupted as the Red Raiders took a 35-34 lead, but it would not last long as Brighton's Daivon Edwards (nine points) buried a three-pointer moments later.

Brighton would maintain the lead until senior Matthew Sherlock (team-high 21 points) nailed a three-pointer—one of five on the night—to give Melrose a 42-41 lead with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.

Melrose carried a slight 49-48 lead into the final stanza, and it would remain a tightly-knit contest with seven lead changes and two ties.

With a little under three minutes remaining in the game, Sherlock knocked down a three-point shot to make it 59-57 Melrose. But, with just over a minute to play James made a layup to help Brighton regain the lead, 61-59.

Meanwhile, Simpson converted what eventually turned out to be the game-winning layup for Brighton with 32.1 seconds left in the contest.

Trailing 64-59 with about 10 seconds left on the clock, Sherlock hit a deep three-pointer to cut Brighton's lead to two. James hit a free throw moments later, but Jean-Gilles three-point attempt before the buzzer was unsuccessful.

In the loss, Melrose's Frantzdy Pierrot contributed 15 points.