Sports

Langhorne comes up big for Porters against St. John the Baptist

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Dantré Langhorne played one of his best games for Greenport, totaling 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals against St. John the Baptist.

Dantré Langhorne reached a significant milestone last week, breaking the 1,000-point mark for his four-year varsity career. But then, as if to show that his work is not nearly done, the Greenport Porters senior forward put on a show Tuesday. It featured some plays worthy of a highlight reel. Call it “The Best of Dantré.”

Whether it was by converting creative layups, zipping accurate passes to open teammates or battling ferociously under the boards, Langhorne made a huge difference Tuesday. His play propelled Greenport to a 58-54 victory over the St. John the Baptist Cougars, a Catholic High School Athletic Association power, in a boys basketball non-league game.

A pair of creative layups by Langhorne highlighted a 7-1 game-ending run that enabled Greenport (4-0, 1-0 Suffolk County League VIII) to overtake St. John the Baptist (8-2, 0-0 CHSAA). The Porters delighted the home fans — and themselves — by wrapping up the win in thrilling fashion. After a Keith Williams free throw trimmed Greenport’s lead to 56-54, St. John the Baptist missed a shot. Then a scramble ensued for a loose ball that ended up in the hands of Greenport’s Tevin Parish, who was intentionally fouled with 12.8 seconds to go. Parish sank one of two foul shots for a three-point margin.

Then, after Willems Fortune tried to tie it up for St. John the Baptist with a three-point attempt that struck off the rim, Greenport’s Sean Charters chased down the rebound before he was fouled with 2.0 seconds left. Charters hit the second of two free throws to ice it.

“That’s the sign of a champion when you get down like that and you come back and hold them off at the end and win a ballgame down the stretch by scrapping and showing a lot of heart,” said Greenport Coach Al Edwards, whose team made 11 of its last 14 field-goal attempts.

An 18-3 run put St. John the Baptist in front by 14 points about midway through the third quarter. But Greenport responded with a 17-5 run of its own. The last two of those points came when Langhorne drilled a three-pointer after making a steal.

Keep in mind that the Porters did all of this despite the fact that they shot 12 for 21 from the free-throw line and went without one of their starting guards, Jalen Shelby, for virtually the entire third quarter. (Shelby went to the bench after picking up his fourth personal foul with 3:57 left in the third quarter.)

GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Jalen Shelby of Greenport tried to find his way around some St. John the Baptist arms.

A great deal of the credit for the win can go to the 6-foot-6 Langhorne, who has gotten off to a tremendous start this season. He entered the game averaging a triple-double, with 20.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and 11.7 assists to go with 3.1 blocks per game.

Much like Ryan Creighton, his predecessor as Greenport’s star player, Langhorne is a team player. He scores a lot of points, but he’s not obsessed by them.

“I like to see my other teammates get into it at the end of the game so we don’t have to worry about one person,” he said. “We can just play as a team.”

When Langhorne surpassed the 1,000-point mark last Wednesday with a dunk in a 66-34 win over the Bridgehampton Killer Bees, the game at Greenport High School was stopped. Langhorne was presented with the ball, which he then handed over to his mother, Selena.

“I don’t really look at points like that, but I guess that was a big deal,” said Langhorne, who scored 21 points that day.

On Tuesday, Langhorne turned in a super performance — 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He also worked well with Tremayne Hansen, who gave the Porters 14 points.

“I was amped up because I like playing against competition,” said Langhorne.

St. John the Baptist Coach Jim Plate did not like what he saw from his team. “What I saw was that one player beat five, and that doesn’t say much for the coaching on our team because there’s no way that should happen,” he said. “[Langhorne] was probably directly responsible for 90 percent of their points. He’s a very good player, but there’s no way you’re supposed to let that happen. I have to take full responsibility. My kids were not ready.”

It was an especially impressive result for the Porters given the quality of the team they faced. St. John the Baptist, which went 22-3 and reached the CHSAA semifinals last season, graduated eight of its top nine players. But the Cougars are still a strong team, with some big bodies such as the 6-8 Kyle Williams and the 6-7 Dante Thompson.

But St. John the Baptist may have received the biggest boost from Keith Williams, a 5-10 sophomore guard who had 18 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and two assists. Thompson scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Fortune also had 12 points.

Hansen said it was the best game he had seen Langhorne play. “He does everything,” Hansen said. “He’s quick, he’s tall. His agility is just crazy.”

Langhorne’s ability to make things happen surely impressed Plate.

“He’s real good,” the coach said. “I’d take him any day of the week.”

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