Tornadoes Are Suffolk Hoops Champs
/By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com
Nick Mitchell (No. 13) jumps for a layup during Suffolk’s small-school championship game Tuesday night at Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood campus. Photos by Hansen Lee
The Harborfields High School boys basketball team won Suffolk’s small-school championship on Tuesday with a 63-48 win over the Southampton Mariners.
“The players felt that they should win the game and they knew what they needed to do and they did it,” Michael Potter, assistant coach for the Tornadoes, said Wednesday. “Anytime a team is on our schedule our goal is to win, so we were very happy to play well and win.”
The Tornadoes sought redemption after falling last season to Bayport-Blue Point in the county final. After knocking off the East Hampton Bonackers in the Suffolk A title game on Friday, the Tornadoes traveled to Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood campus on Tuesday to meet Southampton.
The top-seeded Tornadoes jumped out to a 14-point lead over the Mariners in the first quarter.
“They never seemed to threaten after that,” Potter said. “We seemed to have command of the game from that point on.”
The Tornadoes held their lead throughout the game, utilizing a “very balanced attack offensively” and “great” team defense, Potter said.
Potter added that senior guard Danny Morgan also did a great job individually on defense to contain and shut down Southampton’s top scorer.
Contributing on offense was senior guard Malcolm Wynter who scored 19 points and dished out seven assists. Potter called Wynter Harborfields’ “court general.”
“He just took over the game handling the ball. Whether he was driving to the basket scoring, driving to the basket and dishing off to a teammate or shooting threes from the outside, he had a very good game all around,” Potter said.
Alex Bloom, a senior guard, scored 15 points, while Rob Pecorelli, a senior guard, scored 10 points. Morgan tacked on nine points for the team and Nick Mitchell, a senior forward, added seven points to the scoreboard.
“Everybody sees them on the court and how they play the game and they’re in awe,” Potter said. “I can assure you that they are as good off the court as they are on. They are great kids and a pleasure to be around. They got the total package.”
On Friday, the Tornadoes will face Suffolk’s big-school champion, Half Hollow Hills West, at Stony Brook University. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Regardless of the outcome, Harborfields will play Long Island’s small-school championship at LIU Post on March 6. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Looking forward to the matchups, Potter said, “We’re just looking to keep our stride. We’re confidant things are going our way right now and we’re just enjoying being able to spend extra days together.”
