Another title for Mansfield

Max Boen scored 14 points for Mansfield as the Hornets claimed a share of their fifth consecutive Hockomock League boys basketball title with a onesided 60-43 triumph over host Franklin last night.

Mansfield (16-2, 13-1) can secure the outright title on Tuesday with a win over King Philip.

Franklin (14-2, 12-2) won an earlier meeting of these two league leaders four weeks ago.

Mansfield coach Mike Vaughan said his team’s fast start was the critical difference this time for the Hornets.

“They missed some early shots that we were able to capitalize on,” said Vaughan. “We were able to get some open looks on some back screens. Max shot the ball really well and defensively we played great in the paint.”

The Hornets received a balance offensive attack with Phil Vigeant, Christian Weber and Sam Goldberg each scoring 12 points to go along with Boen’s 14.

Mansfield held a slim 33-29 advantage midway through the third quarter, but a quick 9-0 spurt gave the Hornets some breathing room.

Boen got the run started with a foul line jumper, and then followed it up by finishing at the rim on a backdoor cut to put Mansfield up by eight.

Moments later, Goldberg made his presence known by tapping home a put back to give Mansfield a doubledigit advantage.

Finally, Tyler Boulter capped of the run with a driving layup to hand Mansfield a 43-32 lead heading into the final stanza.

Franklin closed to within nine on a 3-pointer by Connor Goldstein (18 points) but Vigeant immediately answered for the Hornets, splashing through a 3-pointer of his own.

The dagger came with three minutes to play when off a Franklin turnover, Vigeant hit a floater in the lane to give Mansfield a commanding 54-37 edge.

“In the first matchup our shooting was terrible,” said Boen. “We really tried to spread it out, move without the ball tonight, not be stagnant, and that really helped us get some good looks tonight.”

Boen provided an early spark for Mansfield, as his two first-quarter 3-pointers helped the Hornets build a 17-6 lead after one.

The Hornets stretched their lead to double figures on a 3-pointer by Vigeant, but three treys from Goldstein in the second quarter helped the Panthers remain close at 31-24 heading into halftime. In other boys basketball: Ryan Reagan scored 18 points to lead Duxbury (7-9) to a 46-44 win over Scituate in Patriot League action.

Tim Givino scored 16 points and hit the gamewinner in the final minute to help Westwood (15-3) beat Medfield 57-54 in a Tri Valley conference matchup.

In a Catholic Conference contest, Michael Boyd had 24 points and surpassed 1,000 in his career during a 59-55 win for Malden Catholic (10-6) over Xaverian.

Ethan Wright struck for 34 points in a 68-64 win for Newton North (14-4) over Bay State Conference rival Braintree.

Girls basketball

Newton North (14-1) handed Braintree its first loss in 65 Bay State Conference games, 60-54. The Wamps’ streak started in January 2013. Sayawni Lassiter scored 34 points and added 14 rebounds for Newton North. . . . Krista Bradley notched 17 points, including five 3-pointers in a 55-41 win for Norwood (6-10) over Milton. ... Brookline (8-9) beat Needham 48-37 thanks to 17 points from Sydney Jones.

Olivia Dziadyk hit the game-winning free throw with no time remaining to lift Wakefield (13-3) to a 5150 win over Melrose in the Middlesex League.