Hornets reach state semifinal by beating Brockton.

It was as if the MIAA Division 1-South championship game had been uprooted and moved to Indiana, except for the late-winter snowfall outside the Rabouin Field House at Taunton High and the lack of cornstalks.

Before one of the largest crowds to see a south sectional final in recent memory, the Mansfield High boys poured 50 points into the basket in the first half and then fended off a determined and physical Brockton comeback in the second, prevailing 78-65 and advancing to Tuesday's D1 state semifinal on Tuesday (7:15 p.m.) at the TD Garden.

Sam Stevens had 17 first-half points, 14 of them in a 28-point second quarter, as the Hornets (23-3) outscored the Boxers (19-5) by a 28-15 margin to lead 50-27 at the break.

Sam Stevens (33) stops Brockton's Todd Robinson.

(Mark Stockwell photo)

Stevens finished with 29 points, one shy of his season high, while Matty Boen added 19 points and Andrew Rooney 10 to lead the Hornet attack. Mansfield threw in 10 three-pointers, five by Stevens and four by Boen, but Rooney and T.J. Guy were also able to exploit the paint with seven in-close baskets between them.

Mansfield was also buoyed by the return of junior guard Cincere Gill, who had missed five games with a shoulder injury. He had five first-half points and brought added speed to the lineup that helped counter Brockton's impressive team speed.

Brockton's very physical press got the Mansfield lead down to 11 points at one point in the fourth quarter, but Boen had a key three-point play to blunt the comeback. Brockton outscored the Hornets 38-28 in the second half, but the deficit was just too large to overcome.

Isaac Lane scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Boxers.

Mansfield will await the winner of Saturday night's game at the Tsongas Center in Lowell between No. 1 Lowell and No. 2 Lynn English.

And in just a few hours, I'll be back in Taunton to see the Foxboro girls take on Hingham in the D2-South title game (11:45 a.m.). Cue the throat spray!