Wheatley's Michael Santarelli leads Long Island in threes

It’s the area on the court beyond the three-point arc. Welcome to Michael Santarelli’s comfort zone.

The 5-9 senior shooting guard for Wheatley had made more threes than any varsity boys basketball player on Long Island through Thursday’s play, based on games reported to Newsday, 73 in 18 games.

He knows his standing from looking online.

“It means a lot,” Santarelli said. “… I see I have the most. It goes to my teammates giving me the ball. A lot of my threes are off catch-and-shoot opportunities and my teammates find me.

“… It’s [also] a lot due to my hard work, the time that I put in in the offseason shooting and getting shots up and just making sure I’m ready for the year. But I would say, most importantly, it’s my teammates finding me and getting me the ball.”

Santarelli, who doesn’t plan to play in college, was averaging 18.9 points for coach Rich Slater’s Wildcats. They stood at 17-1 overall, with 11 straight wins, and led Nassau B-I at 9-1.

"Coach Slater gives us that attitude and the grit to want to win,” Santarelli said. “It really drives us, and we love him for it.”

LuHi bounces back

Long Island Lutheran dropped two of its first three games, losing consecutively to Florida-based heavyweights.

The Crusaders rebounded nicely. The No. 11 team in the ESPN rankings had won 12 straight through Friday after the 1-2 start.

“When I saw the schedule come out, I said, ‘Well, that’s a tough way to start your season,’ ” coach John Buck said of losing to Montverde Academy and IMG Academy, currently ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 6 teams, respectively. “We competed even (in) those games.

“I think we’ve had a great year. The guys are coming together. They play for each other. It’s a great group to coach.”

The Crusaders have an automatic bid to the state’s Federation tournament as the lone NYSAIS AA school.

“Throughout the year, we definitely improved every single week, just putting the work in the gym,” said Jayden Ross, the 6-8 senior wing who has signed with UConn. “But I would say our best is yet to come. We definitely showed that we can compete with the best in the past few months.”

Clark shows multiple talents

Brady Clark is a Hansen Award-winning quarterback and a St. John’s-bound pitcher. The 6-2 senior forward is also good at basketball.

“Listen, we wouldn’t be here if Brady wasn’t playing,” Bayport-Blue Point coach Charlie Peck said. “He’s the unsung hero.”

Peck feels the Phantoms (13-5, 9-3 in Suffolk IV through Thursday) are a contender for the county’s Class A title. They’re also chasing a title in Suffolk IV’s smaller-enrollment subdivision. Clark was averaging 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and two blocks to go with 6.3 points.

“He’s probably not going to get all-county, but he should because he’s the best rebounder in our league,” Peck said. “He’s the best defender under the basket. And he’s probably leading our league in blocked shots and nobody knows it.”