Opening night is a whale of a start for Northport boys basketball
In an impressive opening night performance, the Northport Tiger boys basketball team crushed the Pierson High School Whalers, 77-44, in a non-league matchup.
Senior guard Emmett Radziul hit seven three-pointers in eight attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points, despite not playing very much at all in the second half against the visitors from Sag Harbor. The Tigers had a 44-19 lead at the break.
Northport junior point guard JoJo Cipollino, making his first varsity start, had 12 points and five assists. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches, he wowed the crowd with entertaining dribble penetration and dishes to open teammates. Despite making his debut as a Tiger starter, Cipollino insists he wasn’t nervous.
“Coach (Andrew D’Eloia) had a great game plan so collectively we all felt we were well prepared,” Cipollino said. “Once the game started, I just concentrated on what I had to do.”
Power forward Andrew Miller had nine points and was rested in the second half. The 6-foot-5-inch Owen Boylan and swingman Timothy Fitzpatrick both had seven.
The Tigers played without stars Brandan Carr and Jonathan Alfiero, both of whom were major contributors to last year’s Tiger team that made it to the Suffolk County Final game against Half Hollow Hills East. The Tigers lost that game to the Thunderbirds, but if this opening night win is any indication, they have restocked the cupboard for another run at that title.
Northport opens its conference schedule at home against West Islip on Friday, Dec. 9.
