Sports

Mansfield High Boys' Basketball Team Earns State Championship Berth With Tuesday's Win

Mansfield High School beat Central Catholic, 55-50, in the Division 1 semifinal game on Tuesday at TD Garden.

After months of practice and training, the season is now down to one final game for the Mansfield Hornets boys' basketball team. For the first time, the Hornets will play in the MIAA Division 1 State championship after beating the Central Catholic Raiders, 55-50, in the D1 State semifinal at the TD Garden in Boston Tuesday.

With tough defense and holding the Raiders to only 17-first half points, the Hornets earned the win with balanced shooting and taking a risk with the percentages towards the end of the game. 

It’s Conner's Turn

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Part of the fun of watching the Hornets is trying to figure out which member of their deep roster will breakout and be the star of the game. This time, it was Kevin Conner's time to lead with a team-best 14 points.

Playing aggressive against a difficult low post defense, Conner drew defensive fouls on four of his six baskets and added a pair of important free throws to his totals.

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“My team is great at passing, great a being unselfish and dishing the ball off to each other. It was a team effort overall. It was more of the team play than just me,” Conner said.

Conner’s biggest baskets came late in the fourth quarter after Tyler Nelson gave the Raiders a one point lead. Quickly responding, a bucket in the low post gave Mansfield the lead again.

After Nelson tied the game again, Conner’s clutch basket down low returned the lead to Mansfield with 33 seconds left in the game. 

Hill Contributes With Defense and Hustle

He may of only had five points, but it was what Brendan Hill did on defense and away from the ball that made a difference. In addition to six rebounds, a block from the sophomore with a little over two minutes left, denied Central Catholic the lead and kept Mansfield up by one with time tickling away.

“I told him at practice yesterday we needed him to score more point and what I was really was trying to tell him is that he needed to be more aggressive and today he was that,” Mansfield head coach Michael Vaughan said.

With 20.4 seconds left, a steal by Kyle Wisnieski found its way to Hill’s hand who converted on one free throw of a 1+1 to give Mansfield a three point lead. 

Nelson Rallies Back

With no points in first half, the Hornets took away a valuable weapon in Tyler Nelson. The guard however, would not stay quiet for the second half, scoring 15 points with 12 coming in the fourth quarter.

Facing a surging Raiders team, the Hornets remained calm though the fourth quarter and weathered the storm from what many consider to be one of the best shooters the state.

“It didn’t really bother us because we stay together in those moments as a team. We’re more of a family than a team so we stayed together and told each other play hard no matter what, we got your back 100-percent no matter what mistakes you made,” Kevin Conner said.

Three times Nelson either gave the Raiders the lead or tied the game and each time the Hornets stormed down the court to regain the lead.  

Playing the Percentages

It was ironic that a debate on the Mansfield bus would come into play late in the game. With time ticking away and Mansfield holding a three-point lead, the Hornets were forced to decide if they should foul or let Central Catholic take the three, a decision that is a familiar discussion topic.

“On the bus ride in we had this debate of do you foul under 15 seconds when you’re up by three and we talked about it and all five coaches said you gotta foul, put him on the line, and take our chances rebounding the ball,” Vaughan said.

With seven seconds on the clock, DeAndrade fouled Jamahl Lopez to force him into a 1+1 free throw situation, Banking on getting the rebound, the gamble paid off as Michael Boen grabbed the rebound and forced Central Catholic to foul.

At the line, Boen sank two free throws to lock up a five point win with five seconds left in the game.

Final Opponent: Putnam 

The Hornets will face Springfield Putnam for the MIAA Division 1 State championship on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester. The Beavers ruined Hockomock League fans’ dreams of an all-Hock final, beating Milford in the state semifinals with a 52-39 win.


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