Late Surge Propels Mansfield Boys Basketball To Victory

In a game full of scoring runs, theboys’ basketball team needed one last surge to finally put away Attleboro, 54-44, in a Hockomock League Large School Division game on Friday night at a raucous James Albertini Memorial Gymnasium.

The win was the 12 straight for the Hornets, who improved to 16-2 overall, 12-0 in the league and 7-0 in the division.

After clinching at least a share of the division crown Sunday, Feb. 6 against North Attleboro at the Albertini Gymnasium, Mansfield officially won the outright Large School Division championship when King Philip upset Franklin on Monday Feb. 7.

But the Hornets would not consider themselves division champions unless they won it on the floor, which meant they had to beat the Bombardiers on Friday night.

Following the victory, the team pulled out a ladder and the players cut down one of the nets to commemorate the achievement.

Mansfield had to wait 50 years before winning its first league championship last winter and captured its second straight league crown this week, this one the inaugural Large School Division championship.

“The kids did not want to do it (celebrate) on Sunday after we clinched a tie,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “They wanted to wait until they clinched it outright with a win on the court, which they were able to do tonight against Attleboro.”

“It took 50 years to get our first championship and for the kids to be able to finish off back-to-back titles is a great accomplishment. The seniors have paid a lot of dues, so I feel good that they were able to get their second championship. And for us to be one win away from going undefeated in this league is remarkable.”

The Hornets will go for a perfect 13-0 league campaign when they travel to Franklin for a Large School Division contest on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

With the loss, a very talented Attleboro team dropped to 13-4 overall, 8-4 in the league and 3-4 in the division. Two of the four losses the Bombardiers have suffered this winter have come to Mansfield. The other two defeats came to Franklin and North Attleboro.

Attleboro will complete its league slate with a trip to Wrentham for a Large School Division game against King Philip next Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

In last night’s game, both teams exchanged run after run in the first half. Mansfield scored the first four points of the game, but Attleboro responded with five straight points to take a 5-4 lead. But the Hornets finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to hold a 10-5 advantage after one.

The Bombardiers tied the game at 10-10 with a 5-0 run to start the second quarter, but the Hornets responded with a 4-0 surge to take a 14-10 lead. Attleboro scored the next five points to take a one-point lead at 15-14, but Mansfield bounced back with an 8-0 surge of its own to open up a seven-point lead at 22-15. The Bombardiers scored the final three points of the quarter to cut the deficit to four at 22-18 at the half.

Mansfield looked as if it had taken control following a 5-0 run, which gave the hosts a 37-27 advantage with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. Lofton had nice tip-in for the first two points. Gracia, who had 13 of his team’s 15 points in the period, completed the surge with a three-pointer.

But Attleboro finished the quarter on a 6-0 surge to cut the gap to four at 37-33 after three quarters. Robitaille sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a thunderous dunk by Nasso to account for all six points during the run.

The Bombardiers would extend their impressive run to 14 consecutive points by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter. Two free throws by Nasso was followed by a pair of three pointers by Robitaille (eight third-quarter points), which gave the visitors a four-point advantage at 41-37 with 5:18 left in the game.

“Our defense really stepped up during that run,” said Attleboro head coach Mark Houle, “and we turned that into transition offense. Our defense fueled our offense. It was a nice run, but we could have extended our lead to six or eight points, but we had a couple of turnovers. We did not finish our plays and it gave them time to recoup.”

And the Hornets responded in a huge way, scoring the next 14 points to take the lead for good at 51-41 with 53 seconds left. A three-pointer by Gracia at the 5:05 mark got the game-winning surge started and then Gracia followed with a pair of free throws, which put Mansfield ahead to stay at 42-41 with 4:18 left.

Hershman was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit two of his three free throws to give his team a 44-41 advantage with 2:39 remaining. A basket by Johnson pushed the lead to 46-41 at 2:17 and Johnson later added a free throw at 1:47 to make it 47-41.

Two more free throws by Hershman gave the Hornets a 49-41 advantage with 1:31 left before a thunderous dunk by Lofton put an exclamation point on the 14-0 surge and the game for the Hornets, making it 51-41 with 53 seconds left.

“Joe’s shooting was huge for us in the second half,” said Vaughan. “We did a good job handling their pressure and not turning the ball over down the stretch. We got a couple of big rebounds and made a couple of big stops. We also got some hoops in transition.”
A three-pointer by Robitaille finally put a halt to the surge with 39.9 seconds remaining to make it 51-44, but one free throw by Hill and two more by Hershman completed the game-ending 17-3 run for the Hornets.

“Mansfield finished their plays tonight,” said Houle. “That was the difference. Their defense did not allow us to get any baskets down the stretch. We were not able to establish our offense late in the game.”

Player highlights included senior forward Joe Gracia, who led the Hornets with 20 points, including 13 in the third quarter. Junior guard Brian Hershman also contributed 17 points, including six key free throws in the fourth. Senior captain and forward Michael Lofton had eight points, while senior captain and forward Jeff Hill had six. Senior forward Chris Johnson added three.

Senior captain and guard Nate Robitaille led the Bombardiers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half. Senior forward Kebba Nasso also scored 11 points. The duo combined for 33 of their team’s 44 points on the night.

  “Basketball is a game of runs,” said Houle, “and you have to be able to break the runs. We were not able to do that twice in the game and that was the difference.”