Boys Basketball: Mowdy notches career-high 33-points to seal Senior Night win for Tuckers
MATTITUCK 63 | CENTER MORICHES 54
Mike Mowdy just about had the first and last words for Mattituck High School during the team’s Senior Night win Friday.
Only 27 seconds into the Suffolk County Division 5 boys basketball game, the senior guard put in a layup for the first basket en route to scoring an impressive 15 first-quarter points.
When Center Moriches ate away at the lead in the second half, Mowdy took center stage by scoring 11 fourth-quarter points to seal Mattituck’s 63-54 victory.
In what was likely his final home game, Mowdy put on a virtuoso performance, connecting for a career-high 33 points while helping the Tuckers maintain their momentum for the upcoming Class B playoffs.
Accomplishing that in front of his parents, friends and family made it extra special.
“It was nice, with all they’ve given me to put on a show for them,” he said.
Head coach Paul Ellwood was also impressed.
“He scored every way possible,” Ellwood said. “He was just really hard for them to contain. He was playing very confident, taking them off the dribble and making good decisions. A great memory for him to do it in his last game on this court.”
That’s because Mattituck (9-7 overall, 7-4 Division 5) likely will play its county semifinal game at Babylon on Friday.
What made Mowdy’s accomplishment even more extraordinary was when and how he scored his points.
He wowed the crowd with those 15 first-quarter points, sparking a 16-0 Tuckers burst to open the game. With Center Moriches (4-15, 2-9) closing in late, Mowdy went into action, tallying 11 points in crunch time, including nailing two late 3-pointers to hold the Red Devils at bay.
“He had the hot hand, so we were just giving it to him, and he was letting it fly,” said Gavin Richards, who finished with 6 points.
As for Mowdy, he was rather humble talking about his performance.
“The team was just giving me the ball, giving me opportunities and I was just capitalizing,” he said. “I just felt confident the whole game, so I’m going to shoot when I feel confident.”
Mattituck senior Trevor Zappulla climbs his way to the basket in a home game against Center Moriches Feb. 3. (Credit: Bill Landon) 
Mattituck senior forward Sean Lawson gets triple teamed fighting his way to the rim in a home game against Center Moriches. (Credit: Bill Landon) 
Mattituck junior Alex Clarke drives the baseline in a home game against Center Moriches. (Credit: Bill Landon) 
Mattituck junior forward Michael Finnigan goes to the rim in a home game against Center Moriches Feb. 3. (Credit: Bill Landon) 
Mattituck senior guard Mike Mowdy drains one of his 6 three pointers in a home game against Center Moriches. (Credit: Bill Landon) 
Mattituck senior Sean Lawson banks two in a home game against Center Moriches. (Credit: Bill Landon)
The Tuckers needed Mowdy’s confidence in the fourth quarter.
After junior guard Tristen Green (team-high 18 points) sank a free throw to move Center Moriches to within 6 points with 6:34 left, Mowdy took center stage, hitting a driving layup. After Richards converted on a 3-point play off a Mowdy feed, the senior guard threw in two long-range treys within 49 seconds to give the hosts some breathing room at 60-49 with just under 4-minutes left.
“Every time they were right there to close the gap to make it a little tense, he would hit a big three or drive,” Ellwood said. “He really stepped up and took control of the game.”
Senior forward Sean Lawson (10 points, 11 rebounds), then sank three free throws. For the game, Lawson went 5-for-8 from the line, an outlier compared to the rest of the team.
If the Tuckers want to have any chance of doing some postseason damage, they will need to improve their foul shooting. They sank only 8-of-21 attempts, including 4-of-11 in the final period.
“We need to have our fouls shots to win games, especially when we’re winning,” Mowdy said. “If we’re up by 3 or 4 in the playoffs and we just keep missing foul shots, we’re going to lose.”
