Sports
Port Jeff Boys Win Class C-D Championship
The Royals defeated The Ross School 69-46 on Friday afternoon at Farmingdale State College to capture the Suffolk County Class C-D Championship.
Add another impressive piece of hardware to the Port Jefferson boys’ varsity basketball team’s trophy case. The Royals didn’t need any dramatic late game denial of a comeback attempt as they withstood in their Class C title win over Greenport earlier this week, instead, just a businesslike approach allowed them to grab the Suffolk County Class C-D championship this afternoon with a 69-46 victory over The Ross School.
Playing at neutral site Farmingdale State College, Port Jefferson took a 19-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, led by standout starters Terrell Rose, Anthony Lanieri and Greg Nielsen. Rose, who has been one of the hottest players in the Suffolk County Section XI tournament, led the Royals with 18 points and nine rebounds while also showcasing his playmaking ability with five assists.
In three playoff games, all wins over Stony Brook, Greenport and Ross, Rose has scored a total of 57 points, grabbed 26 rebounds and dished out 18 assists. When he wasn’t pouring in points for Port Jeff this afternoon, forwards Nielsen (12 points) and Anthony Lanieri (14 points) were.
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The Royals (13-7 overall) took today’s game as an opportunity to show how well they can shoot from long-range when given the chance as Port Jeff made 10 three-pointers against the Class D champion Ravens (7-12 overall). The 10 treys were the most the Royals have made in one game during their marvelous playoff run.
Starter Phil Lanieri and super sub Noah Whalen each made three shots from beyond the arc and Rose added two three-pointers.
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Ross battled its way back into the game in the second quarter as both teams scored 16 points; with Port Jeff taking a 35-25 lead at halftime. The Royals shooters heated up in the third quarter, with Port Jeff dropping 24 points on the Cosmos to take a commanding 59-33 lead into the final quarter. Cosmos star playmaker Brandan Pettaway did his best to keep Ross close, scoring a game-high 22 points, but the Royals weren’t going to be denied another title. After all, they’ve grown so accustomed to being handed championship plaques this week.
The win advanced Port Jefferson to the Suffolk County Class B-CD Championship game against Class B champion Mattituck (15-5 overall), which will be played this Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Farmingdale State College. Regardless of whether or not the Royals win, they will still play Friends Academy in a Regional Semifinal championship game on March 9 at SUNY Old Westbury.
