Overview
Surprise, surprise.
Mansfield hosts Franklin on Friday night and the winner will be the 2015 Hockomock League Kelley-Rex Division champion for boys basketball.
The two teams enter Friday night with identical league records - 14-1 - and it will either be the Hornets walking away with their third straight Kelley-Rex crown or it will be the Panthers winning their first division crown since 2012.
Franklin and Mansfield are the only two games to ever win Kelley-Rex division titles. The last Kelley-Rex team to win a league title was North Attleboro in 2001.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Franklin used a late run to overcome Mansfield at the TD Garden. Dylan Reno scored nine of his 14 points in the final quarter while junior Tim prunier had 17 points senior Shawn Hanley had 10 points and Marcus Giese added 10 points.
The Panthers were able to keep Hockomock League leading scorer Ryan Boulter in check with 13 points, but since that game Boulter has been on an absolute tear. In Mansfield's nine-game win streak, Boulter is averaging 20 points a game, including a 35 point performance a week ago when the Hornets took down Taunton. Michael Boen recorded a double double in the first meeting and is one of the most dynamic players that the league has seen in recent memory. Boen can score from inside or outside, is one of the top playmakers in the league, is one of the best rebounders in the league and on top of it all, is one of the top defenders in the league.
The key for the Hornets will be the supporting cast. Junior Nick Baskin has emerged as the third scorer for Mansfield in some games while sophomore Matt Ehrlich has been the guy in other games. In recent games, sophomore Phil Vigeant has stepped up and hit big shots.
Franklin's strongest aspect this season has been their team defense. They constantly have five guys on the floor that are working hard to make it tough on opponents. The biggest advantage is 6'7" center Marcus Giese, who makes it very hard for opponents to establish anything in the paint.
Offensively, it's always a balanced attack for Franklin. In the Panthers win over Taunton, their top three leading scorers (Giese, Reno, Prunier) combined for just 16 points but in typical Franklin fashion, other players stepped up. One player that has really stepped up for Franklin over the second half of the season has been senior Markus Bohmiller. Bohmiller scored a game-high 22 points in the Panthers' win over Taunton on Wednesday, had 23 points in a win over Attleboro in January, and had a career-high 28 points in a win over Sharon at the beginning of February.
There's plenty more than can be said about this fierce rivalry, including the fact that many of these players are on the same AAU team, but the fact of the matter is that stats mean nothing when game starts on Friday night.
For what it's worth, in an anonymous poll of Hockomock League coaches conducted by Editor-in-Chief Ryan Lanigan, nine coaches picked Mansfield to win and one picked Franklin.
Mansfield hosts Franklin on Friday night and the winner will be the 2015 Hockomock League Kelley-Rex Division champion for boys basketball.
The two teams enter Friday night with identical league records - 14-1 - and it will either be the Hornets walking away with their third straight Kelley-Rex crown or it will be the Panthers winning their first division crown since 2012.
Franklin and Mansfield are the only two games to ever win Kelley-Rex division titles. The last Kelley-Rex team to win a league title was North Attleboro in 2001.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Franklin used a late run to overcome Mansfield at the TD Garden. Dylan Reno scored nine of his 14 points in the final quarter while junior Tim prunier had 17 points senior Shawn Hanley had 10 points and Marcus Giese added 10 points.
The Panthers were able to keep Hockomock League leading scorer Ryan Boulter in check with 13 points, but since that game Boulter has been on an absolute tear. In Mansfield's nine-game win streak, Boulter is averaging 20 points a game, including a 35 point performance a week ago when the Hornets took down Taunton. Michael Boen recorded a double double in the first meeting and is one of the most dynamic players that the league has seen in recent memory. Boen can score from inside or outside, is one of the top playmakers in the league, is one of the best rebounders in the league and on top of it all, is one of the top defenders in the league.
The key for the Hornets will be the supporting cast. Junior Nick Baskin has emerged as the third scorer for Mansfield in some games while sophomore Matt Ehrlich has been the guy in other games. In recent games, sophomore Phil Vigeant has stepped up and hit big shots.
Franklin's strongest aspect this season has been their team defense. They constantly have five guys on the floor that are working hard to make it tough on opponents. The biggest advantage is 6'7" center Marcus Giese, who makes it very hard for opponents to establish anything in the paint.
Offensively, it's always a balanced attack for Franklin. In the Panthers win over Taunton, their top three leading scorers (Giese, Reno, Prunier) combined for just 16 points but in typical Franklin fashion, other players stepped up. One player that has really stepped up for Franklin over the second half of the season has been senior Markus Bohmiller. Bohmiller scored a game-high 22 points in the Panthers' win over Taunton on Wednesday, had 23 points in a win over Attleboro in January, and had a career-high 28 points in a win over Sharon at the beginning of February.
There's plenty more than can be said about this fierce rivalry, including the fact that many of these players are on the same AAU team, but the fact of the matter is that stats mean nothing when game starts on Friday night.
For what it's worth, in an anonymous poll of Hockomock League coaches conducted by Editor-in-Chief Ryan Lanigan, nine coaches picked Mansfield to win and one picked Franklin.
HockomockSports.com Staff Picks | ||||||||||
Ryan Lanigan |
Josh Perry |
Jeffrey Pickette |
Jarett Leonard |
Alex DaLuz |
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Game of the Week Staff | ||||||||||
Hockomock Sports |
Hockomock Sports |
SMAC |
Hockomock Sports |
Select Hoops |
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Boys Basketball |
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Franklin @ Mansfield Friday, 6:30 |
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Attleboro @ Taunton Friday, 6:30 |
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King Philip @ North Attleboro Friday, 5:00 |
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Canton @ Sharon Friday, 6:30 |
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Foxboro @ Oliver Ames Friday, 6:30 |
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Milford @ Stoughton Friday, 6:45 |
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Boys Basketball Record | Lanigan 22-8 |
Perry 26-4 |
Pickette 24-6 |
Leonard 19-4 |
DaLuz 17-7 |
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Girls Basketball |
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Mansfield @ Franklin Friday, 6:30 |
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Taunton @ Attleboro Friday, 6:30 |
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King Philip @ North Attleboro Friday, 6:30 |
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Sharon @ Canton Friday, 6:30 |
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Oliver Ames @ Foxboro Friday, 6:30 |
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Stoughton @ Milford Friday, 6:30 |
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Girls Basketball Record | Lanigan 25-5 |
Perry 27-3 |
Pickette 23-7 |
Leonard 20-4 |
DaLuz 22-2 |
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Hockey |
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Hockey Record | Lanigan 16-3-1 |
Perry 16-3-1 |
Pickette 11-8-1 |
Leonard 12-3-0 |
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Total | Lanigan 64-16-1 |
Perry 70-10-1 |
Pickette 59-21-1 |
Leonard 51–12 |
DaLuz 39-2 |