Mansfield Boys' Basketball Team Cruise to Roundball Tournament Win

When the pairings for the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional Tournament are announced on Friday, no team in the section will be looking forward to its match-up with the Mansfield High boys’ basketball team.

The Hornets completed the regular season with a 20-2 overall record following an impressive 57-30 victory over Belmont in the championship game of the Mansfield Roundball Classic on Tuesday night at the James Albertini Memorial Gymnasium.

Mansfield, which is currently on a 16-game winning streak, will be the top seed when the pairings for Division 1 South Sectional are released on Friday.

It was an outstanding effort on both ends of the floor for the Hornets. They had 11 players score in the game, while surrendering their lowest point total of the season.

“We played great team defense during the game and hit our shots,” said Mansfield coach Mike Vaughan. “We were able to stretch our bench out and get contributions from a lot of people. I also thought we rebounded the ball well in the game.”

Junior guard Brian Hershman led Mansfield with nine points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior forward Joe Gracia scored eight second-half points, while senior forward Chris Johnson contributed seven points.

Senior captain Mike Lofton scored six points on Tuesday night and was selected as the Tournament MVP. Senior forward Kaarim Thomas also scored six points, while junior forward Terry O’Mara had five points. Senior captain and forward Jeff Hill notched four second-half points and earned a selection to the All-Tournament Team.

Senior captain Luka Ladan scored a game-high 13 points for the Marauders, while junior Sam Musler had 10 points. Both players were named to the All-Tournament Team.

As the game went along on Tuesday night, Mansfield just continued to wear down Belmont. With the score tied at 2-2 in the first quarter, Mansfield went on a 13-4 surge to take the lead for good at 15-6 with 31.9 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Hornets had seven players score in the first quarter and held a five-point lead after one, 15-9.

Mansfield opened the second quarter on a 10-4 surge that gave the hosts a 25-13 lead with 3:18 left in the half. Hershman scored all five of his points in the quarter during this run. Johnson contributed three points and senior forward Leonard Robinson had two.

Holding an 11-point advantage at the break, 26-15, Mansfield seized complete control of the game by opening the second half on a 12-4 surge, including a run of eight straight points. That gave the hosts a 38-19 lead with 2:24 remaining in the third. Lofton led this surge with four points, while Gracia, Hill, Johnson and O’Mara all had two points.

Belmont scored the final four points of the quarter to pull within 15 after three, 38-23. But Mansfield used a 6-0 surge to open up its largest lead up to that point at 21 points, 44-23, with 6:01 remaining in the game.

Two baskets by Thomas off nice feeds from Johnson accounted for the first four points, while a Johnson steal led to a basket by Hershman to make it 44-23. A 14-5 run to begin the fourth allowed the Hornets to open up a 24-point advantage, 52-28. A pair of threes by Gracia and a basket by Hill accounted for the points on the back end of this surge.

Freshman guard Mike Hershman put a cap on the win, hitting a three-pointer from the right corner in the final 10 seconds, giving his team its biggest lead of the night, 57-30.