Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015: Northport scores six-overtime hoops win

   Leading off today: The longest boys basketball playoff game in Long Island history came to an end after six overtimes Saturday, with Northport outlasting Huntington 96-89 in the Section 11 Class AA quarterfinals.

   Lukas Jarrett had 41 points before fouling out and Brennan Whalen added 26 for Northport to offset 38 from Huntington's Kenny Charles.

   The Tigers took their first lead in the fourth overtime, and Huntington looked to be in good shape after rattling off five straight points to go up 84-81 with 37 seconds left in the fifth extra stanza. But Whalen made a 3-pointer from the right wing with :17 left, and Huntington missed on a mid-range jumper at the buzzer.

   In overtime No. 6, Gerard Brady made a 3-pointer for an 88-86 lead with 2:28 left, and baskets from Cole Quortrup and Luke DelRossi gave Northport a 92-88 advantage with :57 to play.

   "We go so deep in our lineup. Everyone contributes," Jarrett told Newsday. "One person comes out, we just put another one in. We won that as a team."

   The Tigers will take on top-seeded Brentwood on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's semifinal.

   Speaking of OT: Jacob Hyer scored the winning goal in the third overtime period to carry Whitesboro to a 2-1 upset of New Hartford in a Section 3 Division II hockey quarterfinal.

   New Hartford (16-3) is ranked seventh in the state this week. Whitesboro (7-12) will take on No. 5 Syracuse CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt in the semifinals.

   Goalie Tim Evans finished with 42 saves in the win.

   Ready to rumble: Four schools each have a pair of competitors holding top seeds for next weekend's NYSPHSAA wrestling championships.

   In Division I, Nick Piccininni (126 pounds) and Christian Araneo (195) or Ward Melville are seeded atop their respective weight classes. In Division II, Locust Valley has Jonathan Gomez (106) and Sam Ward (138); Mexico has Theo Powers (113) and Trevor Allard (170); and Norwich has (Tristan Rifanburg (145) and Frank Garcia (152).

   The complete Division I and Division II brackets are now available online.

   Scratch that rumor: Burke Catholic football coach Kevin Ross says speculation he wants to be the new coach at Monroe-Woodbury is just plain wrong.

   "There is no truth to that," Ross, Army's offensive coordinator from 2004-06, told the Times Herald-Record. "If I end up at Monroe-Woodbury, you can call me a bold-face liar. I really like it at Burke Catholic and that's where I'm staying."

   Ross thinks the rumor may stem from the fact that Monroe-Woodbury is among the places he inquired about before arriving at Burke.

   M-W coach Bernie Connolly stepped down in December after 27 years in the program, the last three as the head coach after Pat D'Aliso retired from the top job to become offensive coordinator.

   Canisius adjusts policies: The board of trustees for Canisius High has approved a series of policy revisions in the wake of last year's firing of its dean of students.

   An independent review following the firing of Beck O'Connor revealed several issues. O'Connor was let go reportedly for not appropriately disciplining all-state football player Brad Zaffram in an alleged academic honesty issue. Zaffram had previously been accused of cheating on an exam while attending Sweet Home.

   Zaffram was subsequently suspended from extracurricular activities for 30 days, including the football team's postseason run to a state CHSAA championship.

   Canisius board chairman Robert Reger told WBFO radio that coaches will no longer be allowed to be administrators to avoid conflict of interest.

   "There just needs to be a separation so that the decisions that are made are not so personal or so susceptible to conflict," Reger said. "The investigation only confirmed some of the rumors we had picked up."

   Canisius will also reform its admissions, academic honesty and financial aid policies. Most significantly, five of seven admissions committee members will have to sign off on requests to enroll as transfer students. Financial aid decisions will be separated from admissions decisions to avoid a perception of favoritism to any particular type of student beyond demonstrated need, WBFO reported.

   Extra points: Scotia-Glenville senior and 2014 state Class A player of the year Joe Cremo now stands at 1,924 career points in basketball. Scotia-Glenville is top-ranked in the state.