MOOSEHEART, IL, Feb. 24 -- Somehow, despite being seemingly buried by a second-half onslaught, Mooseheart put itself back in contention in Wednesday's semifinal at the Ramblers own Class 1A boys basketball regional.

Behind by 7 points with 20 seconds left, and down 6 points with 10 seconds to play, the Ramblers gave themselves a chance. But Morgan Park got just enough down the stretch to hold off Mooseheart 54-49, to advance to Friday's regional title game. Morgan Park plays Chicago Hope Academy at 7:30 p.m. for the Moseheart regional championship.

"You always want to play for the championship," Mooseheart coach Ron Ahrens said. "I was hoping this game would be another steppingstone for us. We ended with 16 wins, 3 more than last year. We have 11 losses, 1 less than last year. We won a regional game, which we didn't do last year. I thought this would have been great, to have won tonight."

Mooseheart (16-11) led the entire first half and peaked with a 24-14 advantage with 1:47 left in the half. Jonell Crump gave the Ramblers that lead on a free throw - the last of his 12 first half points. But Crump was neutralized in the second half and finished with 14 points.

Morgan Park found its own inside spark as the second half began in Damon Williams. Ironically, the senior caught fire just after picking up his third personal foul, midway through the quarter. Rather than ease off, Williams surged. After scoring just 7 points in the first half and 1 further point before that third foul, Williams' electric quarter and a half of basketball led him to a game-high 31 points, including 5 key free throws down the stretch.

"I told the team, '(Williams) is going to take over the game taking the ball to the basket,'" Ahrens said. "I told them we had to step in and take a charge on him--and we didn't. It's tough. We had a sophomore on him-Isaiah Brigman. And I thought he did a pretty good job, even though he still ended up with 31."

The Warriors caught Mooseheart with 2 minutes left in the third quarter and ended a 10-3 run with a Chris Deanes basket and a 32-31 lead. The lead changed hands a couple of times and Mooseheart last led at 35-33 on Crump's final points of the game.

Turnovers hurt the Ramblers at that point--throwing the ball away on four straight possessions with chances to advance the lead.

"Our turnovers came at bad times in the game," Ahrens said. "It seems like it was that way at times this year, but especially tonight."

Morgan Park caught fire then and went on an 11-0 run that bridged into the start of the fourth quarter. By the time the Ramblers' offense got back on track, the deficit stood at 44-35. The Ramblers found a final run in an attempt to prolong their season. And when Levi Chavez scored the last of his team-high 17 points, the Ramblers were a steal and 3-point shot from forcing overtime--a long shot certainly, but no longer in the realm of impossibility.

Morgan Park inbounded the ball, Williams was fouled and he sank both free throws to seal the win.

Hope Academy cruised past St. Gregory 97-48 in the evening's other semifinal.

3-point goals:

Morgan Park: Williams 4, Cross 1.
Mooseheart: Chavez 2, Brigman 4.