MANSFIELD, Mass. - Forgive the third-ranked Mansfield Hornets if they felt a bit of déjà vu in their MIAA Division 1 South quarterfinals matchup against the 11th-ranked Brookline Warriors. In a rematch of last year’s semi-final showdown, the end result was the same, a 63-49 win for Mansfield, but the road to the win was not the same against a fast-pace Brookline squad.
“We were here last year and it was the same deal. It’s going to be high energy and high intensity,” Hornets guard Kyle Wisnieski said.
An 8-8 deadlock to start the game was broken late in the opening quarter with a three-pointer by Ryan Boulter. Another outside shot from Nicholas Baskin and an open-lane layup by Rocky DeAndrade (20 points) helped end the quarter with a 8-2 run and gave the Hornets a 16-8 lead after the first quarter.
A quicker tempo worked in favor of the Warriors who opened the second quarter with a 7-4 run to get to within one midway through the quarter. A small run from Elijah Rogers (18 points) and Sam Geschickter’s three-pointer cut the lead to one midway through the quarter.
Brett Levey’s two-pointer gave Brookline a brief 23-21 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first half but DeAndrade was able to respond with a three-pointer of his own. The teams would go into the half tied 27-27 after a Rogers basket brought the game to a draw at the break.
Momentum took to the side of Mansfield midway through the third quarter. Tied 33-33, a basket from Kevin Conner was quickly followed up seconds later with a three-pointer by Wisnieski (16 points) to give a five-point lead to the Hornets.
“The big difference in the game is that you have two seniors who have been great role players and complimentary players all year in Kyle (Wisnieski) and Kevin (Conner),” Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan said. “That really kinda put the game out of reach or at least allowed us defensively to take a few chances. I really thought that was the turning point in the game.”
Brookline would cut the lead back to one with 6:22 to play after a Rogers layup off a turnover but free throws from Wisneski and a three-point play from Michael Boen stretched the lead back to six.
Conner’s drive with 3:13 left pushed the lead to nine, an amount that would not get lower for the rest of the evening as Mansfield knocked Brookline out of the tournament for the second year in a row.
On the boards, Mansfield limited Brookline’s second chances after shutting down Brookline center Obi Obiora on offense and getting help from Boen who had a game-best 12 rebounds.
“We did a good job with Obed and not letting him control the boards, we got (Tyler) Patterson away from the hoop, and a guy like Boen who can drop off a point guard and pick up 12 rebounds. We did a good job team rebounding,” Vaughan said.
Mansfield’s tournament run will continue on March 4 against No. 2 Catholic Memorial at UMass Boston.
Dan Libon can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @DLibon.