Sports
Mansfield Boys' Basketball Team To Beat In Division 1 South
Top-seeded Hornets ride 16-game winning streak and 20-2 mark into tournament.
This year’s MIAA Division I South Sectional Boys’ Basketball Tournament will not be for the faint of heart.
As the top seed, the Mansfield High boys’ basketball team will have its hands full with some of the best teams in the entire state.
At the same time, the rest of the teams in the section will have difficulty eliminating a very talented Hornet squad from the postseason.
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Mansfield will enter the Division 1 South Sectional with a 20-2 record, which earned the locals the first seed in the tournament. Weymouth is the second seed with a 17-3 record, while New Bedford is third at 16-3 and Marshfield is fourth with a 15-3 mark.
With the potential to have two home games each, one would think that those four teams would be the favorites to advance to the semifinals, but that may not be the case.
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“The top teams in the section are weaker than last year, but the field as a whole is deeper,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan. “There is not a powerhouse team, but there are a lot more good teams. There are 10 teams that could play in the Garden and it would not be a shock if any of the 10 made it. It is such a deep field this year.”
Mansfield will enter the postseason with a great deal of momentum. The Hornets completed the regular season with a 16-game winning streak, having gone undefeated both in the Hockomock League (13-0) and in its Large School Division (8-0).
Mansfield finished up with a win over Small School Division champion Stoughton in the Hockomock League Classic Cup and then defeated Lawrence and Belmont in the Mansfield Roundball Classic last week.
“Our record this year is surprising and our seed is surprising,” said Vaughan, "But the way the team came together and finished the season is not surprising.”
Mansfield has a bye into the first round. The Hornets will face the winner of Tuesday’s preliminary round game between 17th-seeded North Quincy (10-10) and 16th-seeded Needham (11-9) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the James Albertini Memorial Gymnasium.
What makes Mansfield such a dangerous team is that the Hornets have the lethal combination of size and athleticism. They play excellent defense and can dominate the boards. Mansfield is also capable of scoring from either the inside or the outside. That makes them a difficult team to stop on offense and a tough defensive squad to score on.
Mansfield is led by 6-foot-4 senior captain Mike Lofton, who is listed as a forward, but has run the team at point guard a lot this season. Junior guard Brian Hershman is a sharpshooter from the outside as is senior forward Joe Gracia. 6-foot-4 senior captain Jeff Hill and 6-3 senior Chris Johnson are talented frontcourt players.
They have a bench full of talented players who have been key contributors, including senior forwards Leonard Robinson and Kaarim Thomas, senior guards Dan Dion and Jason Bouck, junior forward Terry O’Mara and freshman forward Kevin Conner.
Mansfield’s offense has averaged 62 points a game this winter. Even with his unselfish play, Lofton still leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game. Hershman is second at 13 points per game, while Hill (nine) and Gracia (eight) are third and fourth, respectively.
“Our offense needs to continue to make plays and make shots,” said Vaughan. “We also need to limit our turnovers and continue to hit our free throws.”
The Mansfield defense has also been outstanding, holding the opposition to an average of 49 points a game. The Hornets have held 12 of their foes to 50 points or less, including a season-low 30 points against Belmont in the finals of the Roundball Classic.
“This is the best defensive team I have ever had,” said Vaughan. “We just need to continue with our commitment to playing great defense.”
It has been a terrific three-year run for Vaughan and his Hornets. Over that time, Mansfield has a combined overall record of 61-10. The Hornets also have an impressive mark of 40-6 in the Hockomock League, including league crowns the past two seasons.
A year ago, Mansfield finished with a 21-3 overall record and advanced to the Division 1 South Sectional finals before falling to top-seeded Madison Park in Boston.
It will take six consecutive victories to win the state championship and this Hornet squad is certainly capable of accomplishing that feat.
“Looking at the field as a whole and what the North brings to the table, we would have to play great to be able to do it,” said Vaughan of winning a state crown. “But are we capable of doing it, yes.”