Shooting touch deserts Tuckers in Suffolk Class B-C-D final

FARMINGDALE — A cold-shooting start set the tone for the game from which the Mattituck High School boys basketball team could not recover from as the Tuckers suffered a 49-34 defeat to Port Jefferson in the Suffolk County Class B-C-D championship game at Farmingdale State on Wednesday night.

The Tuckers (15-6) had some consolation that their season wasn’t over as they will take on Malverne for the Long Island Class B title at SUNY/Old Westbury next Wednesday.

Port Jefferson (14-7) moves onto the county small schools title game against the winner of the Amityville-Harborfields encounter in the second game of Wednesday night’s doubleheader. The small schools final will be played at Stony Brook University on Friday.

The Tuckers missed their first nine shots before Yianni Rauseo (team-high 12 points) converted a rebound with 2 minutes 12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter after the Royals grabbed an 8-0 lead. Rauseo scored all six of the Tuckers’ points in the quarter.

Mattituck put away only 6 of 31 field-goal attempts in the first half as the Royals moved to a 28-14 halftime advantage. The Tuckers climbed to within 42-33 with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter, but Port Jefferson went on a 7-1 spurt to put the game away.

Guard Terell Rose led the Royals with 16 points, adding nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Braden Colucci and Anthony Lanieri added 11 points apiece.