3-Point Shooting Sends Mansfield Boys' Basketball Past Brookline and into D1 South Finals

After two upsets in the MIAA Division 1 South boys’ basketball tournament, it was the misfortune of the Brookline Warriors they had to face the Mansfield Hornets on the night of perhaps their best shooting performance of the season.

Shooting 17-22 from the field in the first half alone, the Hornets took the lead after a somewhat rough early start and never gave it back in a 68-50 victory over the Warriors.

The Hornets will now play the North Quincy Red Raiders in the Division 1 South Sectional finals  at UMass-Boston on March 9 at 8 p.m.

Unstoppable From Three-Point Land

From beyond the arch, the Hornets were the opposite of what they were against the Franklin Panthers in the quarterfinal round. Going 9-11 in three-point attempts in the first half alone and hitting 12 three-pointers in total, the Warriors struggled to defend the red hot Hornets. Showing their typical patience, the Hornets waited to get good looks at the baskets and it paid off with over half their points coming from three-point range.

“When we do that we it just opens things up and we get better looks,” Mansfield head coach Michael Vaughan said. “I think the ball movement definitely was the key."

Boulter’s Dominates First, then Romanko Takes Over

After struggling for the first two games of the postseason, sophomore Ryan Boulter showed off his quick three point shot that has given opponents nightmares this season. The 14 point first quarter effort from Boulter gave the Hornets the early separation needed to get ahead of the Warriors.

“I was feeling it, just me and Greg (Romanko) we were feeling it tonight,” Boulter said. “We had a lot of good shooting performances this could be maybe our best shooting performance this season.”

In the second quarter, Romanko picked up where Boulter left off with nine points in the second quarter, all from three-point range. Romanko and Boulter both finished with a team best 14 points. 

North Quincy in the Finals

The Red Raiders will have another chance to get to know Mansfield when the two teams face off for the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional title.

Recently, the two schools faced off in the quarterfinal round of the Division 2 South hockey tournament where Mansfield picked up a 2-1 win in the shootout. Like that game, the Hornets are expecting a challenging opponent for the South title.

“North Quincy is a phenomenal team and we got our work cut out for us, but this is what you play for. You do all the hard work in the off-season and this is what you do it for,” Vaughan said.

The winner will face either Central Catholic or Lynn English March 12 at the TD Garden in the state semifinals.