Mattituck boys’ hoops falls to Southampton in county final

It seemed everything that could go wrong for Mattituck just about did in its 78-37 defeat by Southampton in the Suffolk County Boys Class B final on Sunday afternoon.

The third-seeded and defending champion Tuckers’ reliable scorers had trouble putting the ball in the hoop early in the contest, whether it was lay-up, medium-range or triple attempts. And their defense broke down at inopportune times against the top-seeded Mariners.

It all added up to a disappointing afternoon at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue.

“We just fell apart on defense,” said sophomore guard Antonio Sparacio, who paced the Tuckers (6-16) with 17 points. “They just did everything better than us.”

Southampton (16-5), which won its fourth title in five years, will face the Carle Place-Cold Spring Harbor winner at Farmingdale State for the Long Island Class B crown on Saturday, March 7.

Head coach Paul Ellwood knew the Tuckers had their work cut out for them. They had lost twice to Southampton during the League VI season.

“We couldn’t get anything started. Just a credit to them,” he said. “I told the guys before the game, ‘This is when their season starts.’ This is what they play for. It’s a learning experience. See how a championship team comes out in a championship game and represents themselves. You just have to talk about how great Southampton is. They made us play poorly. It wasn’t like we weren’t trying.

“We played them twice. It was nothing like that [before]. They beat us, but we were able to get quality shots and sustain some of our runs. We didn’t get anything going today. They shut down everything.”

By the time Mattituck scored a basket, by sophomore forward Connor Searl (13 points, five rebounds) with 37.4 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Southampton enjoyed a 16-6 advantage. The Mariners finished with a 17-6 first-period lead, extending it to 36-12 at halftime.

“We let the pressure get to us,” said senior forward Tyler Brown, who finished with six points and 12 rebounds. “Last year, we had a lot of pressure, and we handled it really well.”

The Mariners shot a torrid 66% from the field, putting away 33 out of 50 attempts. Twenty-three baskets came via lay-ups or drives, another four off rebounds.

Southampton seniors Alex Frank (seven assists, eight rebounds), who battled a sprained ankle throughout the week, and Saevion Ward (seven assists) scored 20 points each.

“They’re good,” Sparacio said. “It shouldn’t have been that bad, though. It should have been closer.”

The Tuckers shot a more pedestrian 25.5% (12 out of 47). They also did not convert a trey in 11 tries, in contrast to 11 in their 69-60 semifinal win at Babylon on Feb. 13. Sophomore guard Oakley Carr-Smith, who canned eight three-point attempts against the Panthers, did not hit one against Southampton, finishing with one point.

“Our shots just didn’t go on. That happens. It’s disappointing,” senior guard Michael Buckley said.

It was a difficult high school finale for Buckley and Brown.

“I didn’t play my best game,” Brown said. “We didn’t play our best game. We should have played them much better. We played them tough to start in a low-scoring first quarter. We just let them go away.”

Added Buckley: “I thought we had a good season. We definitely were playing good at the end of the season. It’s sad to see it this bad at the end.”

They’ll need to brush the defeat off quickly, as both seniors plan to play baseball this spring. Preseason is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 9.

Ellwood knows that he will have several experienced underclassmen returning in Sparacio, Searl and Carr-Smith.

“A tremendous core coming back,” he said. “I told the sophomores, ‘You’re seniors now, seniors for two years.’ They’re going to take a greater leadership role and be the voice of the team. Looking forward to it. 

“The big picture, I’m pretty happy with what I have coming back. There are going to be a lot more bright days going forward.” 

Ellwood planned to talk to the team on Monday.

“Let it marinate a little, talk about our goals coming up in the next season, and talk about what we’re going to do to be able to come back here again next year,” he said. “That team [Southampton] graduates most of their starting five. It’s going to be different next year. Graduation is going to make us better.”

So will experience.