There were only two hiccups in the regular season, a loss in December to New Mission and an overtime loss to rival Franklin on the Panther's senior night. But when the playoffs came around, it was all business for the Hornets, starting with a 16-point win over Newton South. In just the second game of the playoffs, Mansfield was faced again with Franklin in what turned in to one the best games of the year.
From HockomockSports.com's Ryan Lanigan:
Rocky DeAndrade took control of the game in the fourth quarter and didn't let go until the final buzzer sounded in overtime, helping to guide Mansfield to a 57-48 overtime win over Franklin.
DeAndrade scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Hornets survived an incredible effort from the Panthers.
It was an extremely close game throughout, with the largest regulation lead coming with 2:05 left in the second quarter. DeAndrade floated one up that sophomore Brendan Hill slammed home to give the Hornets a 22-17 lead. The lead didn't last as Sam Bohmiller hit a three and Chris Rodgers' layup around Hill tied things at 22 at the halftime break.
The third quarter ended with Mansfield up a bucket at 36-34, but a Pat O'Reilly free throw with 6.1 seconds left in the game tied things at 46 to send the game to overtime.
“They defend as good as anyone we’ll ever play,” Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan said. “They’re one of the special defensive teams in our division. Every basket is a grind, they don’t give up a lot of second chance points. Our guys stayed with it and battled through it.”
The overtime period belonged to DeAndrade and Mansfield though. The home side outscored Franklin 11-2 as DeAndrade scored two free throws to make it 50-47 before nailed a three that made it 54-48.
"He’s been so steady all year just making big plays,” Vaughan said. “The last two games, he’s carried this team just making big baskets."
DeAndrade added an overtime steal late as Franklin tried to muster up some offense.
“Rocky was the MVP of that game,” Franklin head coach Dean O’Connor said. “He made every big shot and that was the difference.”
In the next game, Mansfield put on a complete shooting clinic in the first half in a big win over 12th-seeded Brookline.
From HockomockSports.com's Josh Perry:
After a tough shooting night against league rivals Franklin, Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan expected a reaction from his team. Even Vaughan could not have foreseen the first half shooting display that the Hornets would have against Brookline.
Mansfield knocked down nine three-pointers and shot an amazing 77 percent from the field in the opening two quarters of Tuesday’s Division1 South semifinal against Brookline at UMass-Boston. The Hornets built a big lead at the half and cruised to a 68-50 victory that will set up a sectional final against North Quincy on Saturday night.
“If we got some looks, I knew we would make some shot tonight,” said Vaughan. “When we’re shooting, we’re obviously a much different team but I honestly thought the difference tonight was our rebounding. I said to my guys, if we rebound then we win and I thought we did that.”
Sophomore Ryan Boulter has had a tough start to his state tournament career, but he exploded in the first quarter on Tuesday. Boulter came off the bench and instantly found a rhythm. He knocked down four three-pointers and scored all of his team-high 14 points in the quarter.
“It felt good. I haven’t been shooting the ball well the last two games and this is a huge boost of confidence for me shooting-wise,” said Boulter after the game.
Mansfield went on to take down North Quincy in a game that for the first three quarters was closer than some people expected. The Hornets were able to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 57-45 win in the D1 South Finals, sending them to the TD Garden.
At the Garden, Mansfield took on Central Catholic in a game that went back and forth before a key block from Brendan Hill and clutch late free throws from Michael Boen.
Ryan Hannable detailed the win for ESPNBoston High School:
For Mansfield sophomore forward Michael Boen, this was by far the biggest game, and biggest stage he’s ever been apart of.
Playing against one of the best teams the state as to offer in Central Catholic, on the historic parquet floor, before a large crowd at TD Garden one would imagine a 16-year-old would be extremely nervous, especially shooting two free throws with seven seconds left and the game on the line.
Boen certainly didn’t show those nerves as he calmly sunk two free throws to seal Mansfield’s 55-50 win over Central Catholic in the Division 1 Eastern Mass. Championship game Tuesday night.
“I was definitely nervous, but I didn’t try and show it,” Boen said. “That is what we do in practice, we shoot our free throws and it pays off. It really does.”
In a wild last two minutes of the game, Central’s Tyler Nelson canned a three-pointer with a minute to play tying the game at 50. Mansfield junior Kevin Conner then responded with 40 seconds left, putting the Hornets up 52-50. Central turned the ball over on their next possession and then was forced to foul Mansfield’s Brendan Hill with 20.4 seconds left on the clock.
Hill made one of two, giving Mansfield a three-point lead, 53-50. Electing not to have Central attempt a three to tie the game, Mansfield fouled Central’s Jamahl Lopez with seven ticks left setting up a one-and-one situation.
Lopez missed the front end, where Boen grabbed the rebound and was fouled, setting up his two clutch free throws to clinch the win and an EMass championship for the Hornets.
“I was begging for the clock to run faster,” Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughn said. “I knew they were going to make a push and throw everything at us as possible. We just had to weather it. I thought the guys had great composure and we got some key stops when we needed them.”
With the win, Mansfield advanced to the Division I State Finals against Putnam. The hype between the two teams was high, with Mansfield's high flying offense and Putnam's rugged defense and rebounding.
The game lived up to all of the hype, with arguably one of the best finishes in high school basketball.
For ESPNBoston.com, Ryan Lanigan described the back and forth ending that finally tipped in favor of Putnam:
The Beavers looked like they were ready to win in regulation, up 40-33 with just over 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Mansfield’s Michael Boen came up with a big offensive board and put back while being fouled. His free throw pulled the Hornets within 4. Both teams traded empty trips before Boen hit a corner three to pull within one at 40-39 with 35.7 seconds left.
After Bynum sank two free throws to put Putnam up 42-39, Mansfield’s Ryan Boulter was fouled while shooting a three with just 5.5 seconds left. The sophomore sank all three shots and Putnam wasn’t able to get a shot off before the buzzer.
In overtime, Bynum sank two free throws only to have Boulter answer with a three to give Mansfield a 45-44 lead. Two more free throws from Bynum followed by a layup from Nichols put Putnam up 48-45.
Mansfield answered yet again, this time with 19.9 seconds left when Boulter again drained a three.
But as time ticked away in overtime, it was Nichols’ drive to the basket that drew the foul that ended as the difference.
Mansfield was just 6-of-29 from downtown, but had 19 turnovers, due in large part to a tough Putnam defense.
ESPNBoston videographer Greg Story followed Mansfield from two days prior to the final all the way to the post game locker room speech. It is an ESPNBoston.com original full-length documentary.
There is a strong chance at a rematch in the state finals, as Putnam returns a strong core next year and Mansfield only graduates two seniors.
For ESPNBoston High School, Ryan Lanigan briefly describes next year's outlook:
The Hornets return a solid core, with sophomores Brendan Hill, the reigning Hockomock League MVP, and Ryan Boulter joining a slew of juniors –- Michael Boen, Kyle Wisnieski, Rocky DeAndrade, Kevin Conner, and Michael Hershman -– ready to take over the reigns of this team.
“This is going to sting for a few days,” Vaugahan said. ”After we wake up in a couple of days, we can make this motivation for next season to get back here. As we said, this isn’t easy. We hope we have an opportunity to represent the South again next year.
"It’s not an easy road and there are a lot of good teams coming back next year. We’re going to show up three days after Thanksgiving and get ready to do this all over again."
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