CAMBRIDGE – There was no quibbling with the effort. The St. Mary’s boys basketball team hung tough for 32 minutes last night at the Cambridge Rindge & Latin gym.But North Cambridge Catholic had just a little bit more. As a result, the Panthers, 74-69 winners, will go on in the Division 4 North sectional, while the Spartans call it a season.”If you give the maximum effort ? and some of the shots just don’t fall,” said coach Kevin Moran afterward, “there isn’t much you can say.”It was a good game,” he said, “But it was a tough loss. I’m really sad for the seniors, because they played their hearts out. It’s them, way more than me, who got us where we were this year. For the last part of the season, they just wouldn’t quit. They showed such leadership.”The Spartans had to make a mad dash down the stretch to make the tournament in the first place ? which they did, by clinching on the last night with a win over Trinity Catholic. North Cambridge Catholic didn’t look insurmountable, especially since the Spartans beat the Panthers late in the season to keep their tournament hopes alive.And they certainly didn’t seem, or act, intimidated against last year’s sectional champion last night, either. Senior Tyler Grillo had a yeoman effort for the Spartans, piling up 28 points in his final game in a St. Mary’s uniform – looking positively Havlicekian (for those who go back that far) on more than a few of his baskets, throwing them up from every angle possible in efforts to draw fouls (it worked, too; he connected on eight free throws).Grillo had a very able supporting cast that included sophomore Ronsanto Campbell, who poured in 17 and showed tremendous poise down the stretch; and senior John Bakopolus, who had 13, and came alive in the third quarter.However, the Panthers spread it around, too. Four players finished in double figures, with big man Mario Moses leading the way with 21. St. Mary’s never really found an answer for Moses down low, as he set up, dished, posted up, and generally had his run of the place.Eddie Maiben was a pest all night, with 18 points, with Robinson Vilmont finishing with 15 (including the shot of the night at the close of the first half) and power forward Brandon Bowman scoring 10.The game was as evenly matched as the final scoring figures would indicate. St. Mary’s broke out early, and hung on to grab a 13-12 lead after one. Most of the second quarter belonged to the Spartans, as they twice had eight-point leads (the last being 26-18), and everything seemed to be going their way.That all changed when Morris hit a three-pointer and came right back with another bucket, and before you knew it, it was 26-23. After Campbell broke the spell with a hoop, the Falcons finished the period with an 8-0 run. Vilmont ended the quarter with a flourish, stealing the ball and coming down for a fade-away three-pointer that broke a 28-28 tie, and left him on the floor, practically in the first row of the bleachers.”We knew they had one of those in them,” said Moran. “But we regrouped at halftime, and, again, I thought it was our seniors who kept us steady. We came back and made a pretty good game of it.”That they did. The third quarter featured great end-to-end action, with both teams shooting well. Each time the Panthers seemed to be pulling away, the Spartans came right back with the answer. Still, it was a five-point game (52-47) after three.Like the third quarter, the fourth was one for the ages, too. Grillo, who just sank some impossible shots, scored his team’s first seven points, sandwiched around three foul shots by Vilmont on what could politely be termed a dubious call; and another bucket by Morris. That made it 57-54. And again, whenever North Cambridge seemed to be pulling away, either Grillo, Campbell or Bakopolus stuck one in to keep it close.With 1:29 to go, a Bakopolus bucket got the lead down to two (69-67), and the Falcons kept it tantalizingly close by missing some free throws. But not enough of them.Vilmont’s t