Div. 1 South: New Bedford's early lead disappears against Mansfield's ball movement
By Bill AbramsonContributing Writer
MANSFIELD — Ten minutes into the first-round Div. 1 South Sectional tournament game, the New Bedford Whalers were rolling, coming off an 8-0 run and holding a 22-9 lead over fourth-seeded Mansfield.
Then the roof caved in on New Bedford.
Mansfield took over, finishing the final six minutes of the first half on a 28-5 run that catapulted the Hornets to a 76-51 victory on Wednesday night.
For the 13th-seeded Whalers, their offense went cold and their defense was exposed by the crisp-passing Hornets, who moved the ball around the frontcourt until finding the open man for outside shots and the driving man for inside baskets. Mansfield outscored New Bedford, 67-29, over the final 22 minutes. That domination was aided by a 22-2 run that encompassed the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter.
"Our defense did a good job switching in the beginning, but then we were late getting out on the 3-point shooters and we gave up easy scores to their back-door plays," New Bedford coach Bonzie Colson explained. "We went to a press and got a couple of things, but then we were not in the right rotation.
"In the first quarter, we were getting to the basket. After we fell behind, we were infatuated by the threes. That ended up in long rebounds and they got a lot of 'run outs.' Their offense took advantage of our defense and what we were giving them."
The early going was the Djay Burgo Show as he scored 11 of New Bedford's 16 first-quarter points on two quick baskets inside, two 3-point hoops and a free throw. He opened the second quarter with a driving basket down the lane and a deep 3-pointer, three feet behind the arc at the top of the key.
"Djay did a great job getting us the lead early," Colson said. "He hit the threes and got to the hole, but then we were shooting threes and we couldn't finish. (Mansfield) chased down every loose ball. We didn't get any of those 50-50 balls."
WHAT IT MEANS: New Bedford's tournament and season are over while Mansfield moved on to the quarterfinals Friday. The Whalers finished with a 12-9 record; Mansfield advances with a 19-4 mark.
SOUTHCOASTVARSITY.COM MVP: Djay Burgo provided almost half of New Bedford's points and ran the offense in his final game as a Whaler.
COLSON: "This season was definitely a success. We wanted to win the Big 3 and got second. We made a run to get into the postseason. I love that senior group and I'm going to miss those guys. I wish I had more time with them."
NEW BEDFORD STATS: Burgo scored 23 points to lead all scorers and Eli Conde (11) and Dezmond Jernigan (10) also hit double figures. … New Bedford shot 18-for-54 from the floor and 5-for-20 from 3-point territory. … Burgo was 7-for-19, including 4-for-12 from beyond the arc.
MANSFIELD STATS: Sam Goldberg led the offense with 16 points, followed by Matt Ehrlich (13), Christian Weber (12) and eight points from each of Nick Baskin, Tyler Boulter and Phil Vigeant. … The Hornets were 28-for-53 from the floor, better than 50 percent.
NOTES: The game was the final one for seniors Burgo, Trever Green, Eli Conde, Dezmond Jernigan, Matt Lopes and Tyrese Britto. That leaves a huge rebuilding job for Colson in 2016-2017.
New Bedford (12-9)
Djay Burgo 23, Trever Green 2, Eli Conde 11, Desmond Jernigan 10, Elijah Diaz 5.
Mansfield (19-4)
Nick Baskin 8, Max Boen 3, Christian Weber 12, Sam Goldberg 16, Tyler Boulter 8, Phil Vigeant 8, Matt Ehrlich 13, John Gouvarlaris 2, Kyle Swansburg 4.
New Bedford;16;11;9;15 — 51
Mansfield;9;28;19;18 — 76
3-point goals: NB-Djay Burgo 4, Eli Conde; M-Tyler Boulter 2, Phil Vigeant 2, Christian Weber.