Raiders throw away lead in loss
Portsmouth overcomes 15-point deficit at halftime in OT victory
PAWTUCKET – Shea High’s hoop team saw its chance for a huge upset of first-place Portsmouth go up in smoke on Monday night. More accurately, the Raiders were denied by a Patriots team that made 26 of its 28 free throws en route to a 78-68 overtime victory.
Shea led 37-22 at halftime after focusing its defense on Portsmouth’s high-scoring guard, Chris Herren. The Raiders put a box-and-1 defense on Herren and limited the junior to four points in the first half. Herren’s outside shots were not falling so the savvy player began driving to the hoop in the second half, slicing through heavy traffic, thrusting his lean frame into Raider defenders and drawing appreciative whistles from the officials.
Herren, who finished with 22 points, hit all 11 of his free throws in the second half as the Patriots slowly crept back into the game.
Shea, which played almost a perfect first half, began to turn the ball over on entry passes that Herren along with fellow guards James Reilly and Darnell Taylor stole on at least five occasions, leading to Portsmouth hoops.
“We got out of our offense in the second half,” Shea coach Matt Pita admitted.
Shea still led by 51-41 with 8:10 remaining before going cold from the field. Herren stole the ball and went strong to the basket with 6:34 left, converting a three-point play to bring Portsmouth within five points at 5146. The Patriots pulled to within one point at 53-52 on a steal by Reilly.
The Raiders then pushed their lead back to five at 59-54 when Abdul Ajia, who finished with 25 points, made a three-point play with three minutes left. Yanique Duarte followed with a baseline drive for a 61-56 lead and it looked like the Raiders might hang on for the win.
Herren then drove to the hoop and made two free throws. Following a Raider miss, Herren got tied up with the possession arrow favoring the visitors. Taylor made a baseline jumper with 1:30 left and now it was a 61-60 game. The physical guard then stole the ball away from Ajia on the other end and fed center Matt Clark (18 points) for a 62-61 lead.
After the Raiders missed two free throws, Portsmouth got two freebies from Herren with 18 seconds left for a 64-61 lead. Shea called time out with 12.4 seconds left, then worked the ball around the outside of the arc before Jamay Holland tossed up a trey at the buzzer. It went in as Shea fans went wild.
Clark took over in overtime, scoring Portsmouth’s first eight points. The Raiders had nothing left in the tank as Portsmouth pulled away to a 10-point victory.
“They’re good,” said an exhausted Pita after the game.
The Raiders were very good in the first half. The 6-foot-4 Ajia scored his team’s first nine points, culminating with a resounding fast-break dunk for an early 9-6 lead. One minute later, Ajia showed his all-around game by draining an 18-foot jumper from the top of the key.
The junior center, who possesses great leaping ability and timing, blocked several shots in the early going before drawing his second personal foul with 7:33 left in the first half. Pita put his star player on the bench and the Raiders kept on clicking as Holland took over, hitting a pair of threes. As the half waned, Dante Harold got open and swished a three and then Gerald Soe drained a trey of his own for a 15-point lead at halftime.
Holland was the only other Raider who scored in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Shea hurt itself by missing seven of 16 free throws.
Portsmouth, which put five players in double figures, improved to 11-1 in Division II, still tied with Westerly for first place. The Raiders, now 8-4, visit Westerly on Wednesday night.