Sports

Boys Basketball: Rough start to the new year for Mattituck

One thing is certain: Mattituck’s 81-51 loss at Center Moriches won’t be in any of the Tuckers’ highlight videos at the end of the season. 

In their first game of the new year, the Tuckers could not shake off the rust. It seemed nothing went right in the opening half as poor shooting and shoddy defense allowed Center Moriches to have its way with its rivals in the Suffolk County League VII boys basketball game.

The tale of the tape was in both teams’ shooting acurracy. Center Moriches (5-3, 3-1), canned 50.8 percent of its field-goal attempts (32 of 63), while Mattituck (6-2, 2-2) struggled at 28.8 percent (17 of 59).

Dan Fedun’s layup 40 seconds into the game gave the visitors a 2-0 lead and it was uphill the rest of the way. The Red Devils scored three baskets within 44 seconds by Tyrell Thomas (12 points), Anthony Parlato (17 points) and Tyliek Quinonez (eight points) and never looked back. They extended their lead to 22-10 by the end of the quarter.

The Red Devils went on a 17-0 tear to grab a commanding 39-10 advantage to open the second quarter before Parker Tuthill’s trey snapped the streak with 3:45 left. Parlato scored eight points during that run.

One of the few bright spots for the Tuckers was the junior forward Ryan Mowdy, who scored all of his team-high 17 points off the bench in the second half. Tuthill chipped in 13 points.

Todd Rowland and Kyrin Taylor (nine rebounds) added 17 points for the Red Devils. Quinonez collected 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.

The Tuckers will try to rebound at Hampton Bays at 7 p.m. Friday.