BOSTON - Friday's Division 1 South boys' final between the Newton North Tigers and the Mansfield Hornets will probably be remembered for two things: one, the miniscule 48-46 score by which Mansfield won; and two, the way Mansfield star Michael Lofton played.
"Michael is so unselfish," Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughn said. "He could easily average 20 points per game, but he averages 13.5 because he shares the ball so well."
The final thirty seconds epitomized the back-and-forth nature of this contest. Lofton (16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 2 steals) stole an errant pass and sprinted down the floor for the slam to put the Hornets up 46-44. Newton North center and McDonald's All-American nominee Tevin Falzon (14 points, 15 rebounds) responded with two free throws to tie the game at 46 (with the Mansfield fans making noise comparable to a Celtics crowd). Lofton then found another clear lane to the basket as time wound downbut Falzon raced back to stop Lofton in his tracks. Mansfield's star still had enough room and time, though, to take a good shot. A shot that would have everybody talking if he made it.
Then he found teammate Christopher Johnson (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) cutting toward the basket, and dropped it off to him for a quick lay-up that sent the TD Garden crowd unglued.
The good karma passed on to Johnson on the next play. Out of a Hornet timeout, he skied over two Newton North players to steal the ensuing inbound pass and cap off the win.
Jeffery Hill had 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals for the Hornets (24-2), while the Tigers (19-7) got 11 points from Michael Thorpe.
The game was low-scoring from the start. After one quarter, the score was 13-7 in favor of Mansfield. At halftime, Newton North was up 24-19. After three, the Tigers led 31-27. On a night where Penn State beat Wisconsin 36-33, UNC's only lead over Miami came from Tyler Zeller's game-winning layup and Jimmer Fredette had 52 for the BYU Cougars, statistical oddities could be found anywhere you looked for basketball.
The Hornets will face St. John's Prep Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. in the Division 1 state semifinal.
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