Onto the Semifinals for Mansfield Boys' Basketball Team

The Mansfield High boys’ basketball team used terrific defense and deadly three-point shooting to build a big lead and then held on for a 58-45 victory over Madison Park in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional Tournament on Saturday night at a jam-packed James Albertini Memorial Gymnasium.

The victory was the 18th-straight for the top-seeded Hornets, improving them to 22-2 on the season. Mansfield advances to the sectional semifinals where the team will face 13th-seeded Boston College High next week. The Eagles improved to 14-8 with a 56-53 win against 12th-seeded Catholic Memorial (14-8) on Saturday afternoon.

“They play hard and are well-coached,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan of B.C. High. “They have a real good player in (senior captain and point guard) Bryan Hurley. It will be a good battle.”

The eighth-seeded Madison Park finished their season with a 13-7 record. The Cardinals eliminated Mansfield from the postseason a year ago, handing the Hornets a 72-60 setback in the Division 1 South Sectional Finals at the TD Garden.

In the rematch, junior guard Brian Hershman scored a game-high 18 points for the Hornets, including 12 points on four three-pointers in the second quarter. He finished the game with six three-pointers. Senior captain and forward Jeff Hill contributed nine points, while senior captain Mike Lofton had eight.

Junior forward Terry O’Mara also scored seven points and senior forward Joe Gracia had six. Senior guard Dan Dion and senior forward Chris Johnson rounded out the scoring for Mansfield with five points apiece.

Senior center Khayree Hudson led the Cardinals with 15 points, while junior guard Ray Matthews had 13 points.

In the final home game for their eight-member senior class, the Hornets used nine three-pointers and an outstanding defensive effort to build a commanding 19-point advantage at the half, 35-16.

A basket by Matthews with 56 seconds left in the first quarter pulled Madison Park to within four at 13-9. But Mansfield scored the final five points of the period to take a nine-point advantage after one, 18-9. The Hornets had four three-pointers in the first quarter, including two by Gracia and one each by Hershman and Hill.

Mansfield extended the run to 13-0 by scoring the first eight points of the second quarter, pushing its lead to 26-9 with 4:28 left in the first half. Threes by O’Mara and Hershman preceded a basket by Lofton to complete the run. Three more three-pointers by Hershman later in the quarter helped the Hornets take a 19-point lead at the half, 35-16.

“We moved the ball well and were making our shots,” said Vaughan, “and we did a good job executing on defense, at least through the first three quarters. Our plan was to move the ball on offense and keep them off the boards on the defensive end. We didn’t allow them any second-chance points and that made a big difference.”

After holding just a four-point lead at 13-9, Mansfield completed the half on a 22-7 surge. A basket by Hill and another three by Hershman concluded a 27-7 run for the Hornets and gave the hosts a 40-16 advantage with 7:10 left in the third quarter.

“We had confidence right from the beginning of the game,” said Hershman. “This game was really a continuation of the fourth quarter of our last game. We got back in rhythm in that game and it carried over to tonight. We had open threes tonight and stay focused on hitting our shots.”

Mansfield outscored Needham, 23-5 ,in the fourth quarter on the way to a 60-34 win in a first-round game on Thursday night.

A three by O’Mara with one second left in the third quarter gave Mansfield a 49-26 lead after three. Madison Park tried to make a game of out in the fourth, beginning the quarter on a 19-8 surge to close the gap all the way down to 12 at 57-45 with 53 seconds remaining, but that would be as close of they would get the rest of the way.