Mansfield boys moving on in state playoffs
Mansfield basketball
TROY - The District IV champion Mansfield Tigers dominated two stretches of their PIAA Class A boys' basketball state tournament opening-round game against Pius X of District II Friday night at the Troy Commons Building. Their 9-0 lead to start the game was soon wiped out, but the Tigers' 18-8 fourth quarter edge, including a 13-5 run over the last four minutes, proved the winning margin in a 61-50 victory over the Royals from the Slate Belt region near Nazareth.
Fittingly for Mansfield, junior forward Luke Berguson went over the 1,000 point mark for his career with a brilliant game that included 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Equally important was his quickness and leadership at both ends of the court that neutralized Pius X's 6-foot-7 David Hills.
"Our ultimate goal is to win and anything I can do to help my team win, I try to do," said Berguson, downplaying his personal statistics. "We came into this game mentally prepared and we knew what we could do. We just played 100 percent, all out for the whole game," he added.
Of Berguson's milestone, recorded from his favorite spot in the low post during the third quarter, coach Kipper Burleigh noted, "He got his points, but he was also key to the win. All he cares about is winning. All he cares about is the team. It's an amazing accomplishment, and it couldn't happen to better kid."
Patrick Cummings added 10 points, all but one on a trio of three pointers, and dished out six assists. Off the bench, Jakob Nance scored nine points, while Cole Correll and Marquis Delgado connected for six each. Trevor Bolt combined six rebounds and four points. Jordan Derstine scored only once all night, but it may have been Mansfield's most important bucket, a tip-in at the buzzer ending the third quarter that gave the Tigers the lead to stay at 43-42.
Scott Douglas led Pius X with 12 points on four buckets from long-range, while point guard Dwayne McGee was also in double figures with 11. The Royals three point accuracy was offset by their futility at the free-throw line where they sank only three of 10 attempts compared to Mansfield's stellar 16 for 20.
Shaking off their three-hour bus ride, Pius X canned four threes to pull within 17-16 at the end of the first quarter. Mansfield again outscored the Royals by one point in the second quarter to lead 32-30 after a first half that saw only two free throws attempted, both by Correll and both successful.
The third quarter became a personal duel between Berguson and Hills that ended with the Tigers on top by one point after Derstine's clutch follow-up of a missed shot. Cummings connected from downtown to open the final period, but the Royals were still in contention until the 2:37 mark when Berguson was fouled while shooting and a technical was assessed to the Pius X bench. Delgado hit both ends of the technical, Berguson did likewise on both from the personal, giving Mansfield an 11-point lead which the Royals could not challenge thanks to the Tigers prowess at the line.
"We executed tonight. In the fourth quarter we played hard defense and we executed on offense and took care of the ball. We played with composure tonight on the context of a big game," said coach Burleigh.
"When you come off a bus you always are a little lethargic, but we made a good run," commented Pius X coach A.J. DePue, adding "We hung in there most of the game. We just missed a couple of foul shots at the end and we didn't get a couple of calls that maybe we should have, and little things like that add up."
Mansfield, now 23-4, moves on to play the winner of the Lebanon Catholic, Homer Center game, prompting Coach Burleigh to comment, "I think we'll be going on a bus ride next time." Pius X ends its season at 21-5.
PIUS X 16 14 12 8 - 50
MANSFIELD 17 15 11 18 - 61
PIUS X - Scott Douglas 4 0/1 12, Dwayne McGee 5 1/2 11, David Hills 4 1/4 9, Zach Williams 1 0/0 3, Jay Maletz 3 0/1 6, James Cooper 2 0/0 5, Matt Camiletti 1 1/2 4, Brian Muller 0 0/0 0; Total 20 3/10 50
Three point field goals - Douglas 4, Williams, Cooper, Camiletti
MANSFIELD - Luke Berguson 9 6/6 24, Patrick Cummings 3 1/2 10, Jacob Nance 4 1/2 9, Cole Correll 1 4/4 6, Marquis Delgado 1 4/6 6, Trevor Bolt 2 0/0 4, Jordan Derstine 1 0/0 2, Total 21 16/20 61
Three-point field goals - Cummings 3
Rebounds - Berguson 10, Bolt 6
Assists - Cummings 6, Berguson 4
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