Flashback: THE shot … Edwards breaks record

This excerpt is from a story originally published in the March 12, 1971 edition of The Suffolk Times, days after Al Edwards set the Suffolk County boys basketball scoring record:

Allen Edwards, league leading scorer for Suffolk County, has set a new record with a total of 1,522 points.

Edwards, a junior, has nowhere to go but up and is sure to provide the impetus for another league winning season in ’72. The line-up next year consists of Bob Chute at center; Jim Stulsky and Edwards at forward; and Dave Edwards and Tom Shedrick in the back court.

According to team manager Marc Wiederlight, himself a senior, next year Greenport will be even better and could go all the way.

A great Greenport basketball team, undefeated in league play, went down to defeat 80-68 before a taller Islip team in the second round of the playoffs.

Islip got off to a quick 10-0 lead, and the Porters just couldn’t come back., though they played a good game.

The highlight came in the second quarter, when Edwards broke the county’s scoring record set by Bob Miller of Shelter Island in 1969. The game was stopped and the crowd gave Edwards a standing ovation.

As he was presented with the basketball, the radio announcer commented that despite this great honor, Edwards didn’t look too happy because his team was behind. Everyone who know Edwards agrees his maon concern was Greenport’s winning first, and then breaking the league scoring record.

Edwards played a great game, getting 17 rebounds against Islip’s Gustafson, who is 6-foot-6. Edwards was Greenport’s top scorer with 25 points.

The program mentioned that “when you see Allen Edwards, you will be watching the first junior to come into a tourney with over 500 points scored during the regular season.” That record is 573, to be exact, for Edwards.