Blue Devils Win Tense Game to Advance to Suffolk Semi-finals
The Huntington boys’ basketball team stormed into the Suffolk Class A semi-finals, topping Bayport-Blue Point before a crowd of more than a 1,000 in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium, 54-47. Senior Anthony Brown led all scorers with 20 points.
The Blue Devils will host seventh seeded John Glenn (13-7) on Tues. Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $4. The Knights notched an upset victory over heavily favored and second seeded Harborfields, 65-55. Huntington defeated John Glenn in the season opener, 74-71.
Third seeded Huntington (15-5) went on a 9-2 run to open the game before the two teams engaged in a knock-down, drag out battle the rest of the way. Twice the Blue Devils opened double-digit leads, but each time sixth seeded Bayport (14-6) clawd its way back, including a late game surge that repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet.
The fast paced game saw both teams commit plenty of mistakes, as the players tried to keep up with each other. There were also several controversies which resulted in the referees stopping play and conferencing with each other. Huntington led 15-9 after eight minutes and was ahead 28-21 at halftime.
Brown was hot all night for the Blue Devils, dropping in a number of big baskets at just the right time and connecting for three baskets from beyond the arc, Ted Calligeros added 14 points and John Patron added 11.
Huntington looked impressive on defense and the starting five was clearly clicking, converting forced turnovers into baskets. But, despite methodically building a ten point lead on two separate occasions, Huntington just couldn’t put away Bayport, which cut the lead down to almost nothing with a suffocating second half defense that caused an inordinate number of Blue Devils turnovers.
Huntington floor general, Matt Duffy, who scored nine points, ran an offense that was efficient enough to win. The Blue Devils employed some spectacular passing and fine running shots that wowed the crowd.
The last minute of play seemed like an eternity as Bayport was forced to start fouling the Blue Devils in a desperate attempt to get the ball back. Most fans remained on their feet for the last three minutes of the game. When the final buzzer sounded Huntington’s faithful went delirious
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington’s crowd included School Board members Bill Dwyer and John Paci III and Superintendent John J. Finello . . . District Court Judge W. Gerard Asher was also in the bleachers . . . Former Blue Devil athletic great and current C.W. Post College senior Pierre Delva was in the crowd . . . Huntington’s cheerleaders performed a stunt at half-time . . . Blue Devil girls’ basketball coaches Brad Reminick and Kim Gilroy watched the boys’ game, too . . . Both schools had large student cheering sections . . . Huntington had nine 3-pointers . . . The Suffolk Class A final is scheduled for Mon. March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at SUNY College at Farmingdale. Tickets will be available at the gate for $6.
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