Unrivaled
When it comes to bragging rights for boys’ hoop in Pawtucket, Shea is top dog after beating Tolman Wednesday 62-56.
PAWTUCKET — The football instincts possessed by Shea High boys basketball senior DeJuan Hayes paid off in a major way Wednesday night.
With crosstown rival Tolman trailing by only three with 26 seconds remaining, Hayes turned in a gritty effort that saw him lunge to the floor in front of the scoring table. The Tigers committed what proved to be their 17th and most costly turnover as Shea salted away the remaining time for a 62-56 win before a rockin’ and rollin’ atmosphere at The Cage.
Hayes endured a rough night from the field but atoned for all the misses with a key defensive sequence that allowed the Raiders to match last year’s win total against Division II opponents.
“It was him being a defensive back. I think he just read the play,” said Shea head coach Steve DeMeo. “That’s why football players are good basketball plays. They see things that the ordinary basketball player doesn’t see.”
In improving to 12-3 in league play, the Raiders received a game-high 28 points on three 3-pointers from Erickson Bans while Jacob Lopes was steady in both halves en route to 16 points.
For Tolman, which fought back after a shell-shocking start that saw Shea jump out to a 12-0 lead, sophomore Maarten Lopes nailed one tough shot after another down the stretch to finish with 19 points. Leandro Depina added 17 points for the Tigers, now 9-6 in Division II.
The ability to bounce back from a rough start that featured three misses and back-to-back turnovers spoke to Tolman’s character and resolve, yet you’re not going to win too many games when you struggle on the defensive boards and surrender 15 second-chance points.
“You can’t afford a 12-0 start against a team like that because you’re fighting uphill the rest of the game,” said Tolman coach Bill Coughlin.
Despite the litany of problems, Tolman was right there on several occasions when the game shifted to crunch time. The deficit was 52-48 after the Tigers’ Lopes converted a three-point play with five minutes left, but Shea’s Lopes responded with a putback. It became common to see the Tigers pull close and the Raiders counter with a move of their own.
Tolman’s Lopes made things very interesting when he made a three that cut Shea’s lead to 5653 lead with exactly a minute left. With the ball in his hands, Bans glided his way to the hoop to make it 58-53. The Lopes in a THS uniform supplied another big shot as he hit a straightaway three with 37 seconds remaining.
“He’s a great kid who comes from a great family,” said Coughlin about Lopes.
After Bans hit 1-of-2 at the foulline – the Raiders had problems there all night as they missed 13of-21 attempts – it was Hayes to the rescue. Shea added three more free throws as Tolman’s comeback bid was finally extinguished.
“Hopefully a game like this serves as motivation to get in the gym [Thursday afternoon] and work hard,” said Coughlin.
The Tigers tried to get the ball out of Bans’ hands before he crossed the midcourt stripe. For the most part, the Bryant University verbal commit didn’t try to force the issue. The art of understanding when it’s appropriate to pick one’s spots came after the Tigers pulled within two (45-42) as Bans nailed a three and followed a DePina hoop with a tough pull-up jumper that made it 50-45 with just over six minutes remaining.
“He truly exhibited leadership in all aspects of the game. He didn’t force it when the double team came,” said DeMeo about Bans. “He had that one spurt that really helped carry us.”
TOLMAN (56): Jaylin Baptista 3 0-0 6, Thomas Kodua 0 0-0 0, Su Faal 3 0-0 9, Isai Prince 2 0-0 4, Stanley Barbosa 0 0-0 0, Leandro Depina 6 5-8 17, Salim Chakhsi 0 1-2 1, Maarten Lopes 8 1-2 19. Totals: 22 7-12 56.
SHEA (62): DeJuan Hayes 1 2-4 4, Kenny Silva 2 0-2 4, Erickson Bans 11 3-7 28, Jacob Lopes 8 0-2 16, Enrique Sosa 0 2-2 2, Elijah Evora 1 0-0 2, Maliek Monteiro 2 0-2 4, Marcus Gonsalves 1 0-2 2. Totals: 25 7-21 62.
Halftime: S 33-23
Three-point field goals: (Su Faal 3, Maarten Lopes 2); S3 (Erickson Bans 3)