BY MARCUS HENRY
The first two minutes featured several turnovers as both teams seemed to be getting the pre-game jitters out. Chateaugay took a 2-0 lead, but Ryan Creighton answered with a layup off his own miss to tie it and Hezikah Mangham followed with a layup to give the Porters a 4-2 lead.
The next few minutes was a back-and-forth affair, with Creighton tying the score at seven with a layup.
But Chateaugay began to flex its muscle outscoring the Porters 7-2 the rest of the way for a 14-9 lead after one quarter. It was a rough quarter for Creighton who connected on just two of his first nine shots.
End of first quarter:
Chateaugay 14, Greenport 9
Creighton's struggles from the field continued into the second quarter as he missed his first two shots. But rather than sit on the perimeter and fire away, Creighton took his game inside and went to the line. Creighton hit 4 of 5 free throws over a 1:05 stretch and kept the Porters within 3, 17-14 with 4:01 left in the second.
But Greenport has still yet to find its rhythm and Chateaugay took advantage of it, ending the quarter on a 9-6 run. Creighton, after a rough first quarter, has begun to pound away in the paint as the 6-3 junior scored eight of Greenport's 11 points in the second. Wally Sorenson, who hit a three with 1:36 left in the second, was the only other Porter to score in the quarter.
HALFTIME
Chateaugay 26, Greenport 20
THIRD QUARTER -
Chateaugay's ball movement proved to be a problem for the zone defense used Porters as the Bulldogs connected on five of its six shots (all on layups) from the field for a 36-26 lead at the 3:45 mark. Making matters worse, Creighton, who has still yet to find his stroke from the field, appeared to be limping. Timeout Greenport with 3:37 left in the third.
Greenport made a push over the next 1:30 and got within 5, 38-33, on three by Wally Sorenson with 1:41 left. Sorenson added another three a minute later and kept the Porters within 6, 42-36,. But it wasn't enough as Chateaugay's offense, which is now in full gear, ended the third with two straight buckets, including a short jumper by Zack Peck as time expired to give it a 46-36 lead.
End of Third Quarter
Chateaugay 46, Greenport 36
FOURTH QUARTER -
Greenport still hasn't found the solution to the problems being caused by Chateaugay's motion offense as the Bulldogs continue to find the open man. With the Bulldogs ahead 48-36 in the opening minuted of the fourth, the Porters got more aggressive on offense and shaved four points off the lead thanks to Creighton and Dantre Langhorne, who combined for eight points during a 8-4 run by the Porters, who trailed 52-44 with 4:07 left.
Chateaugay scored the next four points and led 56-44 with 3:33 left. But the Porters were not done. And it was Creighton who led the charge as he scored nine points, including a game-tying layup with 41 seconds left, during a 14-2 run for the Porters. The score is tied 58-58.
Chateaugay finally stopped the bleeding as Peck and hit a layup and Jordan Rankin connected on a free throw to give the Bulldogs a 61-58 advantage with 8.2 seconds left. Creighton had one last chance to tie the score, but missed on a three from the right wing as time expired.
FINAL SCORE
Chateaugay 61, Greenport 58