Mansfield Boys Basketball Lose to Franklin 60-42

The Mansfield boys' basketball team lost to Franklin on Tuesday, 60-42, in their last regular game of the season.

Mansfield started off the game strong in the first period, but slowly lost momentum to Franklin. Mansfield was up for the first half of the first period, but got stuck at 11 while Franklin pulled ahead to 17.

"I think their shooting kind of slowed down the game a bit," Mansfield head coach Michael Vaughan said. "Our offensive style is fast, and other teams are sitting on us a little bit."

Mansfield started the second period with two baskets, but Franklin answered each and pulled ahead again to bring the score to 23-16. The half ended 27-20 with Franklin in the lead.

The main problem for Mansfield was three-point shots. The team only made one in the game, but kept using the outside as their strategy and did not drive the ball for layups. Without three-pointers, Mansfield's scoring slowed to a crawl, especially in the second half.

"The last couple of games we've been really good in transition," Vaughan said. 

The third period saw Mansfield tie in points for the quarter with Frankin, each gaining 10 points until Franklin pulled ahead in the last minute and a half of the period. The score was 44-30.

The fourth saw an almost total shutdown of scoring from both teams. Both teams scored only one basket in the first four minutes of play. Like the third period, Franklin came out on top in the last minutes of play. Mansfield put up a good effort, but was not able to outpace Franklin.

"It was a tough game," Vaughan said.

Mansfield's Brian Hershman led the Hornets in scoring with nine points, followed closely by Gregory Romanko and Terence Higgins with eight. Sean Higgings scored six points, Michael Hersman scored four, Ryan DeAndrade scored three and Cole Cummings and Kevin Connor each scored two points.

Mansfield continues to the Hock Crossover Tournament at home this Friday at 7 p.m.