By Michael Letendre
UNCASVILLE – The CIAC boys and girls championships came and went this past weekend from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.
And over the ten games on Saturday and Sunday, a couple competitors were able to pull off tremendous upsets.
However, some of the results weren’t of any real surprise.
In boys play, top-rated East Catholic won its third straight championship despite having to battle No. 2 Northwest Catholic in the Division I finals.
The Eagles were able to down the Lions 49-47 as Northwest ended the season as the runner-up for the second consecutive year, this time in Division I.
Since beating Plainville for the Class M crown in 1965, East Catholic has taken home eight championships, winning its past three titles by a combined eight points.
No. 1 St. Bernard, the school of former Sacramento Kings forward Harold Pressley who helped defeat Bristol Eastern at the Class L Finals back in 1981, was able to fend off seventh ranked Staples, 63-50, for the Division II title.
It was the third championship for the program, now 3-1 in CIAC finals play.
Division III saw the top two remaining squads duke it out as No. 2 Waterbury Career Academy earned a big 74-58 victory over top-rated Bloomfield.
The championship win was the first ever title in any sport for the school from Waterbury.
No. 1 Cromwell and No. 3 Ellington had a good back and forth battle for the Division IV crown with the top seed taking it in the end, 53-46.
Cromwell went to the title game for the 17th time in school history, winners of three championships since 2009.
And in the Division V title tilt, it was another No. 1 seed (Windsor Locks) pulling out a 69-58 win over No. 6 Shepaug Valley.
The victory led Locks to its second ever state championship after going 0-4 in title games.
Moving on to the girls championships, two squads that Bristol Eastern battled this season advanced to the finals.
The Lancers split the difference against those two teams this season, going 1-1 against Edwin O. Smith and Northwest Catholic.
In the Class LL finals, another top seeded program won it all.
No. 1 Hamden spun No. 2 Fairfield Ludlowe 63-48 – winning its first ever state title game.
In the Class L clash, old friend Edwin O. Smith managed to make it to the state championship showdown, also winning the title for the first time in program history.
The third ranked Panthers, defeating Eastern by twenty points in second round play this year, dropped top seeded Pomperaug by a 58-46 final to take home the championship hardware.
In one of the two girls title bouts this year in which the No. 1 seed did not qualify for the finals, the Class MM showdown saw No. 6 New London drop No. 4 Mercy by ten points (57-47).
New London is now 3-2 in state title games with all those contests taking place over the past 10 seasons.
In the lowest scoring title tilt since 1990, No. 1 East Hampton survived No. 3 Valley Regional by a 31-29 final for the Class M crown.
Back in 1990, the Class M championship was won by Northwest Regional, slipping past Ellington, 29-28.
The win led to the second ever state championship for the Bellringers.
And in what turned into a battle of middle seeds for the Class S championship, No. 10 Northwest Catholic, a team that lost to Eastern earlier in the year (41-39), defeated No. 16 Kolbe Cathedral, 74-65.
The Lions, who had both its boys and girls teams competing in the finals, was the lowest seed to win a title this weekend.
Here’s the final scores for all 10 championship contests as the winter sports season came to a completion on Sunday evening:
CIAC Girls basketball Championships
from the Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
CLASS LL – Finals
*No. 1 Hamden 63, No. 2 Fairfield Ludlowe 48
CLASS L – Finals
*No. 3 Edwin O. Smith 58, No. 1 Pomperaug 46
CLASS MM – Finals
*No. 6 New London 57, No. 4 Mercy 47
CLASS M – Finals
*No. 1 East Hampton 31, No. 3 Valley Regional 29
CLASS S – Finals
*No. 10 Northwest Catholic 74, No. 16 Kolbe Cathedral 65
CIAC Boys basketball Championships
from the Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
DIVISION I – Finals
*No. 1 East Catholic 49, No. 2 Northwest Catholic 47
DIVISION II – Finals
*No. 1 St. Bernard 63, No. 7 Staples 50
DIVISION III – Finals
*No. 2 Waterbury Career Academy 74, No. 1 Bloomfield 58
DIVISION IV – Finals
*No. 1 Cromwell 53, No. 3 Ellington 46
DIVISION V – Finals
*No. 1 Windsor Locks 69, No. 6 Shepaug Valley 58
CIAC Girls basketball Championships
from the Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
CLASS LL – Finals
*No. 1 Hamden 63, No. 2 Fairfield Ludlowe 48
CLASS L – Finals
*No. 3 Edwin O. Smith 58, No. 1 Pomperaug 46
CLASS MM – Finals
*No. 6 New London 57, No. 4 Mercy 47
CLASS M – Finals
*No. 1 East Hampton 31, No. 3 Valley Regional 29
CLASS S – Finals
*No. 10 Northwest Catholic 74, No. 16 Kolbe Cathedral 65
