Four HHS Players Honored at
Suffolk BB Dinner
Four Huntington High School seniors who helped the Blue Devil basketball team reach the Section XI Class AA playoffs and then notch two stunning upsets were honored last week at the Suffolk Boys' Basketball Coaches Assn. awards dinner at the Polish Hall in Riverhead.
Patrick Reilly was named All-League and All-Conference while Kieran McGovern and Devon Nelson were tapped for the All-League team. Connor Birchard earned Academic All-League honors.
Coached by Brian Carey and Tim Madden, Huntington finished with an 8-8 mark in league play (10-11 overall). The Blue Devils were seeded 20th in the post-season tournament before going on to knock-off 13th seeded Copiague, 64-63 and fourth seeded Central Islip, 56-50 on the road.
Reilly averaged 14 points per game from his guard position. Carey called the teenager Huntington's "most athletic and best player." Reilly turned in a string of fine performances and displayed a knack for hitting long jump shots.
Nelson proved to be a workhorse at forward, pulling down 8.5 rebounds per game to go with a 12.35 scoring average. "Devon grew as a player and person after becoming a team leader," Carey said.
McGovern sparkled at guard, scoring 13.1 points per game. "Kieran consistently played at the highest level of intensity," Carey said.
Birchard averaged 6.8 points at guard and emerged as a team leader. "He's an example and role model for all of our players in the art of handling criticism," Carey said. "Connor is a great teammate."
Carey said the team advanced deep into the playoffs for several reasons. "The players worked hard," he said. "They struggled at times, but never stopped working and were rewarded for their effort and their perseverance."
Huntington was competitive in most of the games it played, and even when the Blue Devils lost by 10 points or more, they went on some fine runs during parts of the game.
"They were terrific young men; easy to like, respectful, articulate and fun to be around," said Carey about his team.
Looking ahead to next winter, Huntington will field a team that doesn't have much game experience, "but is willing to put in time in the offseason," Carey said. Kenny McCarthy, Alex Castillo, Kenny Charles, Scott Gulizio, Kevin Montefusco, Ben Kocis, Skylure Pannell and Lee Reiver will all be coming back.
"There appears to be some talent in the middle school," Carey said about the program's longer-term prospects and what is in the pipeline from J. Taylor Finley Middle School.