Mansfield Boys' Basketball Dominates Canton on Home Court

Mansfield boys basketball team trounced Canton, 73-56, at home Friday.

Despite a strong showing in the first quarter, Canton fell behind later, losing by 20 points during most of the game.

“Canton played hard with a lot of energy,” said Mansfield head coach Michael Vaughan.

In the first quarter, Mansfield had a shakey start, scoring only twice in the first two minutes. At the five minute mark, they started picking up steam, and eventually ended the period ahead, 17-12.

The Hornets turned up the pace, scoring another 22 points during the period, while Canton could only put in 12 points, bringing the score to 39-24 at halftime.

Canton continued in the third quarter with another 12 points, while Mansfield pulled out another 21 points, ending the period at 60-36. Mansfield's Cole Cummings made an impressive alley oop during the third period, set up by Gregory Romanko.

Canton regrouped for the last quarter, outscoring the Hornets this time, but was unable to come ahead. Mansfield finished the game at 73-56.

Brian Hershman led the Hornets with 15 points, during the game, followed by Kevin Coner, with 13 points with a strong night from the free throw line. 

“The kid inside, Conner, he killed us,” said Canton head coach Ryan Gordy, a Mansfield alum. “He’s just a smart intelligent player. He hit seven free throws in the first half.”

Freshman Brendan Hill was close behind with 12 points, followed by Romanko with eight points and Michael Hershman with seven. Sean Higgins had four points and Cummings with four. 

Matthew Baldasare hit a three pointer, while Rocky DeAndrade, Vincent Pignone and Terrence O’Mara also scored during the game.

Vaughan said that while the Hornets played hard, there was a lot he wanted to work on before he felt confident that the team could make it to and win the championship.

“We’ve got to be more consistent before we can beat the powers of the league,” Vaughan said. “We were that against KP, we were that team that we wanted to be. Right now, we need to find our identity, go back and compete. We’ve got great skill; my guys are playing hard, but I don’t know for 32 minutes if we’re competing.”

Mansfield currently has a league record of 3-0, and will be playing Stoughton at home on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.