Masco (7) entered Mansfield’s hornet’s nest on Friday night, and instead of honey, they flew out with a sweet-tasting 63-55 victory, now advancing to the first Final Four game in program history.
Masco came into the game as the underdog to the two-seeded Mansfield but didn’t play like it at all. Masco was the far superior team as they even found themselves up double digits as early as the first quarter and led 29-13 at the break.
The first quarter of defense played by the Chieftains should be shown to all high school teams because you couldn’t have asked for much more effort and discipline. Mansfield is a high-motored offense that constantly screens and cuts with or without the ball, but the Chieftains came prepared.
“We defend, we defend, we defend; that was our key strength. Holding a team like that at their own house to 16 points in the first half was impeccable,” said first-year head coach Jaycob Morales. “We can still do a better job sharing the ball and shooting with confidence, especially away. Our strength is that we have guys everywhere we go, guys like [junior] Ryan Richardson and [junior] John Green playing huge minutes off the bench. It’s the little things that really make us great.”
The Chieftains did a fabulous job switching and hedging screens and closing out on shooters, giving them barely any breathing room.
Junior guard Cal Weidman played outstanding defense throughout this contest and set the tone early, turning two quick steals into fast-break layups.
“We knew they could all shoot, and we preached that in practice the past week. We had hard closeouts and stayed in passing lanes, getting us a lot of steals. We also trusted our big men in help defense so we could defend the three aggressively,” said Weidman.
Weidman ended the game with eight points and five steals.
Despite being up by 17 midway through the third quarter, some fans may have forgotten that basketball is a game of runs.
Mansfield was able to claw their way back by getting to the line an astounding amount and starting to attack the basket, eventually being down by only four with under 30 seconds remaining.
Just when Masco fans started to feel uncomfortable, and Mansfield’s student section was roaring, Weidman got an open layup with a little over 10 seconds on the clock off the press break, and then he stole the ball, leading to another layup right after.
“We’re the best team in Masco basketball history, and what we’ve accomplished this year is amazing,” said Weidman. “We’re here to win it all, but no matter what, I’m proud of the whole team, and it’s been an honor to play with them.”
Masco’s ace junior captain, Jimmy Farrell, was the true key in getting up big in the first half. Farrell had 15 of his 18 in the first half and got to his spot when he needed. He also sunk two deep threes in the second quarter, keeping the team’s energy high.
The effort from senior Hunter Rossi was nothing short of exceptional. Every shot that went up, he banged bodies for rebounds and kept a strong presence in the paint, finishing with six points and six rebounds.
Richardson and Green both played great defense on some of Mansfield’s top players and stepped up big when guys were in foul trouble.
“This win feels great, but we know the job is not done. We know that against Somerset-Berkley, we need to start the game strong, establish a hard defensive presence, not let them get into rhythm by running them off the three-point line, and once again let our defense dictate our offense,” said senior captain Devin O’Brien.
Even without his classic three-ball falling, O’Brien got creative in finding a way to score clutch buckets down the stretch for Masco, totaling 14 points.
“Against Mansfield, it was a way of handling the pressure they applied in that hostile environment. The coaches did a good job preparing us for the environment, but it’s hard to truly replicate one like that,” said O’Brien. “The coaches also did a great job showing us what Mansfield was going to be like, and our biggest key was holding them to 2 of 25 from three when they have shot around 50% for the season from deep.”
This is Masco’s first Elite Eight win in program history, and they now advance to their first Final Four.
“It’s a great feeling, man. All glory to God, glory to these boys, and glory to the community that has supported us all year. This will be a game I’ll be remembering for a long time,” said Morales.
Masco now takes on another high-motored team that can shoot the lights out in (6) Somerset Berkley. The winner of this game will be sent to the Tsongas Arena for the Division Two MIAA Championship. The game will take place at UMass Boston at five.
Score by quarter:
1st: MAS 15 MAN 7
2nd: MAS 14 MAN 9
3rd: MAS 19 MAN 15
4th: MAS 15 MAN 24
Masco leading scorers: Farrell 18 pts, O’Brien 14 pts, Denton 9 pts, Weidman 8 pts