Raiders’ season comes to end
Mount Pleasant pulls away from Raiders in second half
COVENTRY — The Shea High School boys’ basketball team was presented with a tall order on Thursday night as they found themselves going up against Division I Mt. Pleasant in the Sweet 16 Round of the Rhode Island State Tournament.
Playing at the neutral site of Coventry High School, the D-II Raiders looked to continue a recent string of upset victories that had taken place across the board that same day in the tournament, but were unsuccessful in doing so.
A close game for all of the first half and most of the second eventually began to tilt in Mt. Pleasant’s favor, with the Kilties pulling away down the stretch for a 78-61 final.
Five players reached double figures for the winners, with Aaron Gomes and Chaynce Trottman each leading the way with 19 points. Bernardino McGuy and Adonis Acevedo both posted 12, while Naszell Pona added 10 of his own.
The Kilties advance to tomorrow’s Elite Eight at CCRI against Cranston East after the Thunderbolts defeated East Greenwich, 68-58 in the earlier game at Coventry High School.
As for the Raiders, their season is now over, but there is still much to be proud of. Thursday’s defeat was in no way a stain on a campaign that saw them go 19-8 overall.
“The score’s not indicative of what transpired,” Shea coach Steve DeMeo said after the defeat, proud of his team’s performance despite the outcome.
Junior point guard Erickson Bans led the way in the loss with a team-high 26 points, while DeJuan Hayes had 11. Kenny Silva Miranda put up eight and Nathan Rodrigues, seven.
It is never easy playing up a division, let alone in the postseason, but Shea managed to hold its own from start to finish, showing that they belonged on the same court with a team that had beaten Bishop Hendricken earlier in the year.
In addition to playing in a division above them, the Raiders were forced to contend with Mt. Pleasant’s deep- er lineup as well, something DeMeo touched on after the loss.
“I thought we went toe-to-toe with them. One of the things we lacked all year was depth at the big positions like our center and our forwards,” DeMeo said.
That would ultimately prove to be one of the primary differences in the end in a game that was either side’s to take until the final stages.
“It was like an eight-point game, we got it down to like four and, you know, foul trouble hurt us and we just don’t have the depth,” DeMeo said. “Mt. Pleasant was subbing like in and out, in and out and we just don’t have those guys to do it.”
DeMeo credited his squad for laying everything on the line.
“The other guys stepped up. We had other guys who basically played JV all year coming into this game. They didn’t show any trepidation, they just played their butts off,” he said.
He is hopeful that next year’s squad will be able to bring the same energy to the court as this year’s one and hopeful- b w
ly make a return trip to the tournament.
“It’s not easy, but that will be our goal like it is every year,” said DeMeo.
Shea opened the game on a 8-4 run and they didn’t allow an ensuing 11-1 run by the Kilties to deter them. N
After Hayes tied the game, 19 on a 3-pointer, Mt. Pleasant responded with a 7-0 run surge, highlighted by their quick transition offense. Shea managed to keep the score close though, staying within single digits by the half, down just 35-30.
The Kilties opened the second half by scoring the first four points before Shea went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Hayes layup to tie the game up, 39-39.
Gomes answered back by hitting consecutive threes for Mt. Pleasant,h giving the Kilties the lead for good.
Shea kept it close for much of them half, trailing just 55-51 at one stage before the Kilties began to pull away forw good. A three-pointer from Gomes put them up 67-54 with under five minutes to go, while a breakaway slam dunk by McGuy in the final minute put the finishing touches on the game.