The Tigers took a 6-4 lead after a quarter of play and used five second quarter points from Jason Harer to help them to a 19-11 advantage at the break. 

Harer finished with a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds and added seven blocked shots to lead Mansfield. 

A 16-9 third quarter for the Tigers .. including eight points from Harer .. upped their lead to 35-20 as they entered the fourth. 

Andy Hermansen added nine points to Harer’s six in the final frame to help the Tigers keep pace with a hot-shooting Wellsboro squad .. nine points by Colin Fletcher and six from Griffin Morral .. as the Hornets closed the gap with a 25-19 period to provide the final.

Hermansen also recorded a double-double for the Tigers with 17 points and 13 boards and added four steals, while Kevin Clemente-Vazquez scored eight points, Collin Oakes had five and Colton Pellett scored three points. 

Morral and Fletcher each finished with 12 points to lead Wellsboro while Jonathan Carl had 10 points, Marek Mascho had seven and Gideon Lawton and Ethan Keane each had two points. 

Mansfield’s 11th win guarantees them of a spot in the District playoffs, and also keeps the Tigers in a tie for first place in the NTL Large School Division alongside Towanda, who edged Athens Friday. The Tigers have four games remaining in the regular season, starting Monday at Troy.

Wellsboro drops back to .500 on the season at 9-9 with the loss. With two games left, the Hornets will need to win at least one to make the playoffs. They’ll host Towanda Friday and finish their regular season on February 9th at Central Columbia (9-9).