Kenny Charles Leads H-ton Basketball Honorees
In his final season wearing a Huntington High School boys’ basketball uniform senior Kenny Charles averaged 20.4 points and was named the Suffolk League III Player of the Year.
Blue Devil head coach Brian Carey called Charles “talented,” and said the teenager was voted the top player by the league’s coaches. The senior will pick-up All-League, All-Conference and All-County honors at the Suffolk Boys’ Basketball Coaches Association’s annual awards dinner in April at the Polish Hall in Riverhead.
Huntington junior Kevin Lawrence averaged 10.4 points and was selected to the All-League team. Senior Dan Mollitor, who was second on the team in rebounds, was named Academic All-League.
“Kenny was our most outstanding player,” said Carey about Charles, who averaged 21.4 points in league play and 17 points in the team’s five non-league contests.
The Blue Devils compiled a 7-7 mark in league play, finishing the season in a tie for fourth place. Huntington went 7-12 overall. The 13-player team was captained by Charles, Mollitor and senior Quincy Nelson. Frank Mantesta and Fred Grasso assisted Carey with the varsity squad.
Lawrence enjoyed a solid season and displayed a knack for knocking down three-point baskets. “He was the second leading scorer on the team,” Carey said. Mollitor was a “team leader both on and off the court,” the coach added.
The season’s highlights included an 87-85 overtime win at home against North Babylon, a 62-57 victory at Smithtown West and a narrow three-overtime late year loss to that same Bulls team.
Carey praised his team. “They are great kids,” he said. “About as nice off the court as you can get.”
The Blue Devils were disappointed the team didn’t win more games or go further in the playoffs. “We didn’t meet the expectations of the players or the coaches,” Carey said.
Huntington will return 10 varsity players to the court next winter, including four current sophomores and six juniors. “We expect there may be competition for spots on the team from rising junior varsity players,” Carey said.