Luke Woods reaches 1,000-point plateau in Mattituck's win
Mattituck guard Luke Woods poses for a photo with his parents after scoring his 1,000th career point against Greenport in a Suffolk League VII game on Thursday at Mattituck. Credit: George A Faella
Luke Woods showed up at his home gym Thursday night 38 away from the magic number -- 1,000 points.
Only three players in Mattituck history had ever reached it, and Woods wasn’t thinking about joining them in one shot, this game against Greenport.
"Definitely not," said Woods, a 5-9 senior combo guard who leads Suffolk in scoring at 28.7 points per game. "We have Pierson (away) on Saturday. I was texting the Pierson coach (Will Fujita). I was like, ‘I’m probably going to get a thousand on you.’ "
But Woods owned 26 after three quarters in what became a 71-49 Suffolk VII win for Mattituck.
So the fourth quarter of the one-sided game became all about getting him to 38/1,000 at home. He got to 37, and then he sent up a jumper from about 15 feet on the left side. And there it was, with 2:51 left.
Woods’ face lit up with joy. His teammates mobbed him. Coach Paul Ellwood called for time. The milestone was announced to the crowd. Cue a standing ovation. Then Woods struck a happy pose for a camera on the court with his parents.
And then he took a seat with 39 points and 1,001 reasons and counting to feel satisfied.
"I’ve been waiting all my four years of varsity," Woods said, now holding the game ball. "My whole entire basketball career, this has been one of my goals. Finally, getting that moment, the relief, it’s incredible."
Greenport (10-7, 10-5), which was paced by Jahmeek Freeman with 13 points, led 17-15 after one quarter. Woods had just four. But he heated up in a hurry, hitting three threes and converting a three-point play in a 14-point, second-quarter eruption.
"He just finds a way to score," Ellwood said. "He scores in transition. He hits a three. He hits a pull-up. He gets a steal. He gets to the foul line. He scores every way possible."
The Tuckers (12-4, 10-1) had a 40-24 cushion at the break after outscoring the Porters 25-7 across those eight minutes. The margin reached 24 in the fourth.
Afterward, Greenport coach Ev Corwin gave Woods a hug.
"Luke and my son (Ev, a Porters player) played travel ball in CYO since they were 9 or 10 years old," Corwin said. "So, as frustrated as I was about our performance after the mid-second quarter, Luke is like family. To a better kid, it couldn’t happen."
