Tuckers beat Babylon in a payback semifinal thriller

Five weeks ago, the Mattituck High boys basketball team walked into the Babylon gymnasium and suffered its worst defeat of the season, losing by 37 points.

The Tuckers promised themselves that they would not let history repeat itself in the Suffolk County Class B semifinals. On Friday night, the second-seeded visitors combined a great start and an impressive finish en route to a 69-60 victory over the No. 3 Panthers in a thrilling and entertaining affair.

“We came into this gym after last season, beating them twice, and thought we would roll in here the first time and cruise to a win,” sophomore guard Connor Searl said of the 75-38 loss on Jan. 8. “But that wasn’t the case. They caught us off guard. They had a lot of things going for them that day. We really wanted to come back to this gym with a vengeance. That really fueled our game today and our passion and grit.”

“It was a great, exciting game,” head coach Paul Ellwood said. “It was the 14th time we played them in five years, and we finally won a playoff game here.”

The Tuckers had lost three playoff games in Babylon the past five years. “Both played at the highest level they could,” Ellwood said. “We jumped out, they came back. We pulled away again; they came back again. They took the lead, and we answered one more time, and put the game away. A tremendous, fun game — fun for the spectators.”

Every Mattituck starter made key contributions. Sophomore guard Oakley Carr-Smith tallied a game-high 27 points, including a season-high eight treys. Searl collected 24 points and scored in different ways, from three-point range, coast-to-coast after gathering a rebound or driving to the basket through traffic. He was also 7-for-7 from the foul line.

Sophomore guard Antonio Sparacio recorded seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including three vital free throws in the final 50.3 seconds. Senior forward Tyler Brown finished with five points, including a layup during crunch time, and grabbed a few key rebounds down the stretch. Senior guard Michael Buckley did not score but his alert defense helped the Tuckers transform turnovers into baskets.

Mattituck (6-15) enjoyed as much as a 29-15 advantage with 3:01 remaining in the second quarter, but the Panthers (3-16) chipped away. Junior guard Carter Palmieri (18 points) put in a layup for Babylon’s only lead at 54-53 with five minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Buckley fell to the floor. Palmieri taunted him and was assessed a technical foul.

“I went straight up, and he made a good layup,” Buckley said. “I was on the floor. He went up to me, and he kind of flexed. The ref was right next to us.

“It was the turning point. It was their first lead. Probably all of us were feeling that, ‘Damn, we’re down now,’ but that tech was big. That really got us back in.”

Searl sank both foul shots to give the visitors a lead they never relinquished, starting a 16-6 surge to finish the game. 

The Tuckers also retained possession. Carr-Smith and Searl canned triples for a 61-54 lead with 3:56 remaining.

“I just had a good warm-up, ate good food before the game and just the mindset,” Carr-Smith said of his amazing shooting. “It doesn’t matter about a miss. Just got to keep shooting.”

Mattituck’s superiority at the line went a long way. The Tuckers cashed in on 14-of-16 attempts (87.5%), including 7-for-9 in the fourth. Babylon was only 8-for-18 (44.4%).

“All week at the end of practice, we’ve been putting Connor, Antonio and Oakley on the line,” Ellwood said. “They all get four foul shots. They have to make 10 out of 12 for us to leave the gym. Last night, they made nine out of 12 the first time and then made 11 out of 12 the second time. You’re shooting 80% in a close game, you’re going to win. Last year in the county championship, we were 19-for-24. So, you can’t emphasize foul shooting enough.

“It’s like having an automatic field goal kicker.”

The defending county champions will now face top-seeded Southampton in the final at St. Joseph’s University on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m.

The Tuckers lost twice to Southampton (15-4) during the League VI season, but they have been encouraged by their win in Babylon.

“They’re a great team,” Searl said. “Every time, we seem to improve against them. It’s one game, so anything can happen. I’ll be looking forward to it, for sure.”