Lukas Jarrett, Brennan Whelan, Gerard Brady lead Northport win
Northport forward Lukas Jarrett goes up for the layup between two North Babylon defenders in a game Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Credit: George A. Faella
Lukas Jarrett shoots his smooth jumper with his left hand. But the Northport forward is no southpaw.
"I shoot lefty but everything else is with my right hand," the 6-6 junior Jarrett said. That includes his baby hooks in the lane, pinpoint passes and the occasional one-handed dunk.
Jarrett used both hands effectively Tuesday night, scoring 13 points, registering seven assists, four steals and four rebounds as host Northport beat North Babylon, 55-47, in a non-league contest.
Jarrett scored on a breakaway dunk early in the first quarter, jamming with his right hand, as the Tigers (3-0) came out roaring to grab a 22-11 lead after one. "We were running and talking and we came out of the gate quickly," Jarrett said. "We knew we had to come out firing against their pressure defense."
He misfired on a dunk in the second quarter, and got called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim a tad too long. That foul, which counted as a personal, sent him to the bench for much of the second quarter with two fouls, and the Bulldogs (1-2) capitalized with a 9-0 run that cut the deficit to 22-18 with 5:50 left.
But point guard Brennan Whelan scored on two drives, one a crowd-pleasing floater after a jet-quick crossover, and Northport regained control. Whelan contributed 10 points and six rebounds and the Tigers' other starting guard, Gerard Brady, had four rebounds plus 12 points and three assists.
"Everybody passes the ball and everyone boxes out and looks to rebound," Whelan said. "In the first quarter, we got a lot of wide-open lanes."
Though the scoring pace slowed considerably after the first eight minutes, Northport continued to move the ball on offense and did a solid job denying North Babylon's high-scoring Zach Moore, who managed only two field goals and 12 points. Timothy Forbes also scored a dozen for the Bulldogs.
Jarrett was especially proficient in the fourth quarter, scoring on a righthanded baby hook, a righty floater and a lefty jumper from the corner. He also contributed a pair of nice assists as the Tigers built a 12-point lead.
"Lukas is very unselfish," Northport coach Andrew D'Eloia said. "And he works tirelessly at improving his game. The assists are all part of our system. We look for the open man and if you double him, he's got a lot of options."
From the left and from the right.
