The Freshman Mansfield Hornets ended their first season with their largest
margin of victory over the Canton Bulldogs, 61-35 tonight. All season long Coach
Langmead urged the boys to be patient, look for the open man and to take the
high percentage shots. That strategy worked again tonight as every Hornet was
able to put points up on the scoreboard and were led by Brendan Boyle (20
points) and Pat Lambrecht (13 points). On their way to their fourth straight
victory, Mansfield raced to an 8-0 lead to start the game and never looked back.
Point Guard Matt Parrett calmly led the team down the court and often found
Travis Lasher (7 points) and Jeff Boyle (4 points) moving into position to score or
to make that extra pass and then score. At halftime, the Mansfield defense had
allowed only 14 points while the offense put up 35.
Coach Langmead regularly rotated his eight players in and out to keep them fresh
and that paid off in the second half as the bench contributed 15 points towards
tonight's victory. Kevin Otto (8 points) played big inside and scooped up rebound
after rebound at both ends of the court while, Thomas Savageau's outside shot (6
points) and Mike Perillo's deft passing (3 assists) kept the Bulldogs on their leash
for most of the game. Unable to play for a variety of reasons, Dakota Cullen,
Andrew Jenkins and Kairell Williams cheered their mates on to victory and as the
final buzzer sounded, there were smiles all around as the class of 2010 celebrated
their victory and finished the season with a record of 10 wins against only 6
losses.
With only eight men taking the court tonight, Coach Langmead's challenge was to leave
enough fuel in the gas tank of his players to secure a victory against the visiting King
Philip Warriors. Mansfield came out with plenty of fire power as Brendan Boyle (18
points) and Travis Lasher (13 points) led the team on a quick 12-0 run to start the game.
KP called time out and regrouped somewhat and pulled to within eight with Mansfield
leading 14-6 with 7:40 to go in the first half. Patrick Lambrecht (7 points) and Matt Parrett
(4 points) ushered the Hornets on a 10-0 run that left the Warriors stunned. Thomas
Savageau (4 points) found the big men inside with some nifty passing and dished often to
Kevin Otto (5 points) to take the Hornets into the locker room with a 30-10 halftime lead.
The second half opened up much as the first half ended as the Hornets reeled off another
12 unanswered points while the defense, led by Jeff Boyle (4 points) and Mike Perillo (2
assists), stymied King Philip early in the half. At one point, Mansfield pushed the lead to
30 points, 42-12, when the team decided to work on passing and ball movement. King
Philip enjoyed short bursts of offense and began to make up some ground late in the
second half, but it was too little too late as Mansfield improved its season record to 7-6
with a 55-32 victory.
Coach Langmead and the Freshman Hornets were looking for a measure of validation
tonight against the visiting Warriors from Foxboro, hoping home court advantage would
prevail yet again in this series. Leading buzzer to buzzer, the Hornets delivered with a
convincing win, 49-30 and improved their season record to 9-6. The game began quickly
as both teams pushed the ball up and down the court, looking for an early advantage.
After 10 minutes of play, Mansfield led 15-11. Travis Lasher (17 points) and Brendan
Boyle (12 points) led the team with double digit scoring while center, Pat Lambrecht,
wasn't far behind with 9 points of his own on the afternoon. Mansfield's harrasing
defense and deft passing on offense allowed the Hornets to enjoy a 21-13 halftime lead.
Looking to sustain that first half momentum, the Hornets jumped out and scored the first
six points of the half and pushed the lead to 27-13. An impressive steal by Lasher, who
lobbed the ball ahead to Matt Parrett, only to get the ball back from Parrett as he filled the
lane, resulted in two more points and pushed the lead to 18 with Mansfield up 34-16.
There was no looking back for the Hornets who went on to win in convincing fashion and
ensure the team will finish well above .500 in their first Hockomock season with one game
to play.