Freddie Amato and Mekhi Harvey were nearly unstoppable last Friday night, repeatedly hitting outside shots to lift the Huntington boys’ basketball team over Centereach in Suffolk League III play, 65-57.
Amato connected six times for three-point baskets and had 19 points overall. Harvey dropped another 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to give Huntington its second win in three games.
The Blue Devils opened a 17-12 first quarter lead before going on a 20-10 run over the next eight minutes to head into halftime holding a 37-22 advantage. Huntington continued to hit shots from the outside in the third quarter and extended its lead to 17 points. It needed every one of them.
Centereach rallied in the final minutes, cutting its deficit in half. Huntington head coach Brian Carey called timeout and implored his players to ramp-up their defensive efforts, which they did along with hitting a few timely shots and several free throws.
Freshman Chad Rowe continued his hot play, dropping 11 points. Gerard Federici had eight points and Mike Abbondandelo added seven points. Nick Inman had two points.
Huntington tallied 11 three-pointers in the game. Besides the six by Amato, both Federici and Rowe notched two buckets from behind the arc and Abbondandelo had another.
The Blue Devils have struggled this winter. Star senior Nat Amato has been injured for several weeks, which has hampered Huntington on both ends of the court.
The Blue Devils have dropped several close games to Kings Park (57-53), Northport (43-41) and Newfield (48-43).
Huntington entered this week with a 2-4 record in league play. To reach the playoffs, the Blue Devils need to win five of their final eight games. They still have to play Copiague in home and away contests. There are also home games remaining against Newfield and North Babylon and away games at Smithtown West, Half Hollow Hills East, Smithtown East and Centereach.
Blue Devil Notes: The Huntington JV won its third straight game on Friday night . . . Huntington boys’ basketball 1958/59 team captain Jerry Asher was at the game . . . The Blue Devils 2015/16 team captain, Dan Mollitor was also in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium for the contest.
