Yesterday evening, the boys’ basketball team completed their first season sweep of Portledge in a dominating 63-43 performance in Locust Valley that improved their league record to 12-3. The victory sets up a huge match-up on Friday night in Swanson Gymnasium with Long Island Lutheran that will determine the #2 seed in next week’s PSAA tournament.

Yesterday evening, Portledge jumped out of the gates with their most productive quarter of the night. All five of their starters scored as they built a 15-13 lead after one. Nate Small scored six in the frame for the Bears, Dylan Kopp added four, and Paul Coty knocked down a 3-pointer. From there, it was all Bears, as their relentless defense fueled their offense.

The Bears outscored the Panthers 17-10 in the second frame to take a 30-25 lead at the half. Orlando Morris scored 10 points in the quarter, and Coty dropped in the other seven as the Bears took a five-point cushion into the break.

The Bears used the third quarter all season long as a springboard to victory, and yesterday was no different as they outran Portledge 18-8 in the period to take a 15-point advantage in the final frame. Five Bears scored in the period as they continued to impose their will on their hosts. The Panthers couldn’t muster a comeback in the fourth as the Bears won the frame 15-10 behind six more points from Coty.

Coty led all scorers with 21 points in his finest game of the season. His trio of 3-pointers led all shooters. The Bear offense showed excellent balance as Kopp (13), Small (13), and Morris (10) all scored in double-figures, complemented by Andreas Simoni (4) and Fraysser Torres (2).

The Bears are back in action in Friday night’s key Senior Night match-up with LuHi at 6:30pm.

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