All Mountain Valley Conference boys’ basketball opponents previous and future are likely to spin the same strategy against splendid senior guard Anthony DiMauro and the Seahawks.

Boothbay found what was behind Door No. 2 — perhaps Door No. 3 or 4, actually. Andrew Hallinan dished to Linc Simmons for a layup with three seconds remaining in regulation, and the undefeated Seahawks escaped the Phoenix Nest with a 54-52 win.

“The finish wasn’t exactly how we drew it up. We were going to get the ball to Anthony. He was going to penetrate and kick out,” Boothbay coach I.J. Pinkham said. “I knew they would plug the middle to stop him. We couldn’t get the ball to him. Fortunately the Hallinan kid had a chance to get open and dribbled it in.”

Peter Theriault’s traditional 3-point play tied the game for Spruce Mountain (2-2) with 56.7 seconds remaining. Boothbay (4-0) bled the remaining time from the clock to set up the game-winner.

The teams exchanged timeouts at the 13-second mark — Boothbay to design its play, Spruce to set up its counterattack — before the dramatic finish.

Theriault’s half-court shot fell far off the mark at the horn.

“At halftime we actually talked about the good chance that it was going to come down to a last-possession game. That’s exactly what it was,” Spruce Mountain coach Chris Beesey said. “We said we had to grind it out and every possession was important. The kids we had in there at the end were playing well on both sides of the ball. Their kid made a play.”

Spruce Mountain played matchup and 1-3-1 zones in an effort to minimize the danger of DiMauro slashing to the basket. DiMauro still did his share of damage with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but the Phoenix shut him out in the fourth quarter.

Kameron Markee scored eight of his 10 points in the final period for the Seahawks, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“He probably hasn’t hit one all year,” Pinkham said. “He was slow getting into shape coming off football. He picked a good time to hit ’em.”

Hallinan also had six of his nine points in the final 6:54.

John McKenna led Spruce Mountain with 16 points off the bench, highlighted by three 3-pointers. Theriault tacked on 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Spruce Mountain’s regular rotation included four sophomores and a freshman.

“Pretty much in every game we’re looking for the right combination and sticking with them,” Bessey said. “I think we’ve used three different starting lineups.”

There were 15 lead changes. Theriault’s drive and free throw on the Phoenix’s final full-fledged possession produced the ninth tie.

Spruce’s largest lead of the game was five points, 34-29, at the end of a 7-0 run in the third quarter. Tyler Kachnovich hit a jumper and two free throws and Scottie Hall stuck a 3-pointer.

Boothbay’s biggest edge was four on two occasions, the latter when Markee hit a trey courtesy of DiMauro for a 49-45 cushion with 3:30 left.

McKenna answered with a 3-pointer and Theriault next hit the first of two throws to tie it at 49.

The Seahawks couldn’t pull away despite shooting 6-for-9 from the field in the fourth.

“I’ve got to make some changes. They know what we’re doing and took it away from us. We’ve got to have a counter. We’ve had four games in a week. I just haven’t had time to put anything in,” Pinkham said. “Everybody’s doing the same thing. They’re not guarding (DiMauro). They’re packing it in. We’ve got to figure out something pretty soon.”

Spruce Mountain hadn’t lost a home game — boys’ or girls’, varsity or JV — in the building formerly known as the Tigerdome since school consolidation in 2011.

“We kind of played up that fact,” Bessey said. “I think right now they’re more discouraged about being the first team to lose than anything else.”

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