Mattituck falls short to Burke Catholic
Mattituck's Connor Davis drives against Burke Catholic's Danny Boylan in the first half during a Class B Southeast Regional final at Farmingdale State. (Mar. 12, 2011) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Mattituck's players insisted they wouldn't hang their heads after Saturday night's loss -- one that ended their improbable playoff run. Burke Catholic of Goshen, the stiff breeze to the Tuckers' magic carpet, dominated from start to finish with a 75-59 win in the Class B Southeast Regional.
But history, where they've been and what they are, is what will ease the immediate pain for Mattituck.
"Coming into the playoffs, our goal was to win counties," said Mattituck senior Ryan Dinizio, who had five points. "To come away from this season being Long Island champions, that's something to be proud of . . . we're not going to hang our heads."
Zach Rufer scored 21 points and Brendan Miller added 16 points for Burke Catholic, which advanced to the state semifinals in Glens Falls on Friday. The Eagles have beaten three straight LI opponents in the Southeast Regional final.
Steve Ascher scored 18 points for Mattituck (16-7). Tom Ascher added 14 points, and Connor Davis and Cody Huntley each scored.
In a game that had long been decided, the Eagles' 6-7 Miller punctuated it with a two-handed tomahawk dunk that made it 61-45 with 7:01 left. Rufer's 12-foot baseline jumper gave Burke Catholic (21-2) its biggest lead at 70-45 with 4:33 left. The Eagles' front line of players 6-4 and taller proved to be too much for the Tuckers. "We have a huge benefit in being able to toss it down low to our bigs," Rufer said.
Still, Dinizio refused to allow that excuse to be made for them. "We've gone against size before," he said. "We went up against Malverne, which was a big team, and we pulled that out. Today just wasn't our day."
Mattituck had won its first Class B LI championship since 1979 with a 68-67 upset of four-time defending champion Malverne when Steve Ascher's tip-in just beat the final buzzer.
But the euphoria didn't last long once the preparation began for Burke Catholic. The Tuckers had never played this team, nor had they been able to watch much of the Section IX powerhouse. "They're probably the team in the state we know the least about," coach Paul Ellwood said. But going off stats, the Eagles' No. 2-state ranking, and what little film they were able to dig up, Mattituck figured "they're a big team that plays well defensively."
As Ellwood deduced, height and defense were in fact Burke Catholic's strengths. Mattituck fell behind quickly as it was outscored 24-12 in the second quarter. Rufer opened the second half with a three-pointer that pushed the Eagles' lead to 38-21. Miller hit a putback at 4:41 that made it 47-30. Danny Boylan's layup at 3:53 in the third quarter made it 51-32. Mattituck never pulled closer than 15.
"They're a tough team," Dinizio said. "What we take from this is we're Long Island champs. How can we not be proud of ourselves?"
