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Boys Basketball: Porters shoot one step closer to league title

Greenport basketball player Ahkee Anderson 020317

The only thing that could stop the Greenport Porters on Friday night was a troublesome popcorn machine, but even that was only temporary.

When a high school boys basketball team that has everything that Greenport has shoots like it did Friday at Southold High School, well, it just seems plain unfair.

Looking primed for the playoffs and a strong run at the Suffolk County League VIII championship, Greenport came out on fire (although that wasn’t responsible for a fire alarm that interrupted the game), shot a sizzling 29 for 54 (53.7 percent) from the field in the first three quarters, and flew to an 87-59 victory, the team’s ninth in 10 games.

First-place Greenport (12-6, 8-0) opened the game at a torrid pace, making 12 of its first 17 field-goal attempts for a 29-14 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter.

Ahkee Anderson, the standout freshman guard, set the tone with his accurate outside shooting. Anderson brought the Porters 21 points, shooting 7 for 14 from the field and 5 for 7 from three-point range. He also had four assists.

But that wasn’t all. Julian Swann contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Tashan Lawrence added 12 points.

As a team, Greenport went 10 for 22 on three-point attempts.

Not even a tremendous game by Southold’s Pat McFarland could overcome the onslaught. The senior guard scored 33 of his team’s 59 points, shooting 10 for 18 from the field and 8 for 9 from the free-throw line. He also had six rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Anthony Klavas, who fouled out with 30.9 seconds to go, had 10 points for Southold (4-13, 1-7), which lost for the fourth time in five games.

Greenport dominated in rebounding, with 46 boards to Southold’s 19.

Greenport had already built a 53-21 lead when McFarland came down with a defensive rebound just as a school fire alarm went off with 1:54 left in the second quarter. The teams and spectators vacated the gym while the alarm was investigated. A popcorn machine was declared the culprit and, following a delay of about 21 minutes, play resumed.

The Porters are closing in on the league title. They could clinch a share of the league crown Wednesday when they host Pierson. Then they will finish regular season on Feb. 10 at Bridgehampton. Prior to Bridgehampton’s game against Pierson on Friday night, the Killer Bees (11-5, 6-1) sat in second place, with title aspirations of their own.

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Photo caption: Southold’s Pat McFarland (24) and Greenport’s Ahkee Anderson (23) were the primary players in Friday night’s League VIII game. McFarland scored 33 points and Anderson had 21. (Credit: Garret Meade)