Nigel James of Long Island Lutheran finishes a fast break...

Nigel James of Long Island Lutheran finishes a fast break with a dunk against Green Tech on Saturday. Credit: David Meisenholder

Teams relish the opportunity to face Long Island Lutheran.

The Brookville-based boys basketball power, ranked 10th nationally in the ESPN SCNext Top 25, often absorbs the best punches from opponents who hope to pull off a gargantuan upset.

Saturday afternoon was no different as reigning state Class AAA champion Green Tech High Charter School (Albany) came to town, but the Crusaders proved to be overwhelming in their 10th straight victory.

Senior guard Nigel James, a Huntington native and Marquette signee, had 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals as LuHi secured an 87-62 non-league win over the Soaring Eagles.

“You could tell the atmosphere, everybody wants to beat us,” said the 6-foot James, a 2024 Newsday All-Long Island first-team selection. “So they’re coming out here playing intense. You got the crowd right behind our bench talking crazy. So there’s definitely a chip on their shoulder and a chip on our shoulder, too, to just give them what they asked for.”

Senior guard Kiyan Anthony, a Syracuse signee and the son of former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, scored 18 points for LuHi (13-5). Senior guard Kayden Mingo – a Farmingdale native, Penn State signee and 2024 Newsday All-LI first-teamer – had 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Junior guard Dylan Mingo, Kayden’s younger brother and New York’s top junior per the 247Sports Composite, and junior forward MJ Madison each had 10 points.

“For Green Tech, they might not have a Hoophall [Classic] and they might not have the Nike EYBL Scholastic [Conference],” LuHi coach John Buck said. “So a game like this, I’m sure they had circled the whole year, and rightfully so. They played like it.

“For our guys, we had to respond and understand that this was a challenge that we had to approach better and differently. We started to do that, especially in the third quarter.”

The teams were knotted at 26 with 4:10 left in the second quarter after guard Indavier Barnes (26 points) hit his fifth three-pointer for Green Tech (6-7). LuHi ended the second quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 38-28 halftime lead.

The Crusaders started the second half with a sense of urgency, extending their lead to 60-40 on James’ third dunk with 1:52 left in the third quarter.

“Just intense,” James said when asked to describe his game. “Make sure I’m picking up the ball 94 feet, playing defense, hitting my open shots and getting my teammates involved.”

Buck credited the current win streak to the “accountability and openness” of his team.

Anthony suffered a groin contusion in the season opener against St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute (Buffalo) on Nov. 30 and missed 11 games. He returned to action against Veritas Academy (Santa Fe Springs, California) on Jan. 10 and has played in the Crusaders’ last six wins.

LuHi is in search of its first national title.

“I think we’re progressing in the right direction,” James said. “Definitely taking steps forward every day. There’s little things that we have to fix every day.

“No one’s perfect, but we’re going in the right direction.”

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