By BRENDAN McGAIR

Sports writer

SCITUATE – Sure, it would have been nice to stick a fedora in their hats that signified “division champs.” The reality, however, is that Shea High must now regroup, shift gears, and hone in on the new task at hand: reach the Ryan Center.
In a game that determined the Division II-North regular season title, Scituate prevailed by a 65-63 count Friday night before an enthusiastic throng of spectators at the Spartans’ gym. The issue wasn’t settled until Malik Moody’s wild 3-point attempt glanced off the back rim, the potential game-winner leaving the finger tips of the Shea sophomore as the horn sounded. That miss resulted in the Spartans finishing at 16-2 while the Raiders bused back to Pawtucket with a not-too-shabby 15-3 mark.
Friday’s outcome also determined which side would enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed behind South champ Portsmouth, leaving the other as the No. 3. Barring any upsets in next Saturday’s quarterfinals, the Spartans and Raiders could tango for a third time on Tuesday, March 9 with a trip to URI and the finals hanging in the balance.
“We can say this was our first playoff loss,” said Raiders head coach Greg Barker, who hopes what transpired Friday will gnaw away at his players’ sides over the next seven days. “Now we have another chance.”
Jared Hanson led the Spartans with 24 points, several which came at the free throw line in the final minutes. Malcum Moniz matched Hanson with 24 points while Rudy Brito added 16 points. Joh’lon Hazard came off the bench to score 10 points.
After trading punches with the Spartans in a first half that featured 14 lead changes and the home team clinging to a one-point lead at halftime, the Raiders slipped to start the second half. A 17-8 Scituate run resulted in Shea being down 50-40 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Most of the Spartans’ offense came down low as the Raiders had a hard time preventing Hanson from finishing at the rim and Brendan Cabral (18 points) from cleaning up inside.
The deficit remained at 10 points with 6:08 left before the Raiders started to make some noise. A three-point sequence by Moniz cut it to 57-42 with 4:42 as Shea started to find its stride thanks to a full-court trapping scheme.
“It wasn’t looking good, but then the light switch turned on,” said Barker. “The defense stepped up.”
Back-to-back layups by Moniz and Brito helped cap off a surge that featured nine straight points by the Raiders, who now trailed 57-56 with 3:43 left. From there it turned into a free throw shooting contest as both teams combined for three field goals down the stretch.
Two free throws by Moniz tied the game at 59 at 2:36 and cast a momentary hush over the crowd, which featured several Scituate students donning togas. Both teams traded one-point leads before two Hanson free throws put Scituate up 64-61 with 59.1 seconds left. Hanson’s trip to the charity stripe was made possible after Brito got swallowed up by a sea of Spartans with no whistle. Clearly frustrated, Brito received a technical, which ended up being his fifth personal foul.
Forced to press on without its top 1-on-1 scorer, the Raiders moved to within 64-63 after Hazard scored with 40 seconds left. A Scituate turnover gave the ball back to Shea at 33.8 seconds. After Barker called a timeout with 27.7 seconds left, Hazard let a 3-point try fly, which missed, then chased down the rebound. The sophomore was fouled on the play, then missed two at the line with 11.7 seconds remaining. All told the Raiders missed 10 foul shots.
A free throw by Jeffrey Winchell gave Scituate a two-point lead with 9.5 seconds left. The madness only grew as Moody, who Barker instructed to penetrate and look for Moniz, was met up with a gaggle of Scituate defenders as he crossed midcourt. Moody froze instantly, leaving him little choice but to hoist a tough runner that missed.
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SHEA (63): Malcum Moniz 6 6-7 24, Adelino Dias 0 1-2 1, Wilfredo Cruz 1 0-1 2, Austin Silva 3 0-4 6, Rudy Brito 6 2-2 16, Zach DePina 0 0-0 0, Joh’lon Hazard 3 3-6 10, Malik Moody 0 6-6 6. Totals: 19 18-28 63.
SCITUATE (65): Jared Hanson 7 9-12 24, Jake Hesford 0 0-0 0, Brendan Cabral 7 4-4 18, Lionel Vierra 3 3-4 11, Kyle Pheland 0 0-0 0, John Dias 0 1-2 1, Jeffrey Winchell 0 1-2 1, Jacob Tillman 5 0-0 10. Totals: 22 18-24 65.
Halftime: Scituate 33-32.
Three-point field goals: Shea 5 (Malcum Moniz 2, Rudy Brito, Joh’lon Hazard); Scituate 3(Lionel Vierra 2, Jared Hanson).
JV: Shea 68-48.