Boys Basketball: Blue Waves surge, only to fall short against Sachem North

FLAMING ARROWS 69, BLUE WAVES 63

Riverhead battled back from an early 14-point deficit to grab a 4-point advantage in the fourth quarter, but could not hold on en route to a 69-63 home loss to Sachem North in a non-league boys basketball game on Friday night.

Senior Deon Shorter came off the bench to lead the Blue Waves (1-4) with 17 points, followed by sophomore Charles Manning’s 14 points. Manning scored 13 of his points in the third quarter.

The Blue Waves grabbed a 53-49 lead 1 minute 50 seconds into the final period, but Sachem North (2-4) went on a 20-17 spurt to pull away.

Sachem North had four players in double figures. Senior guard James Bassford, who sank all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half, canned four foul shots over the final 43.3 seconds to keep the hosts at arm’s length. Bassford led the visitors with 22 points. Nakhari Nelson and Blake Thompson contributed 14 points apiece and Anthony Service added 11.

Riverhead next hosts Sachem East in a non-league game on Monday.