The boys and girls basketball state championships will take place Saturday and Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Manchester boys will be trying to make history, winning their first title since 1938. The Ellington boys are trying to remain undefeated. The Northwest Catholic girls want to win their third straight state championship. The Southington girls want to win their first state title since 1993.
Here is a quick breakdown of games and times:
Boys
Division I, No. 5 St. Bernard (22-3) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame-West Haven (25-2), Saturday, 8:15 p.m.: A rematch of last year’s Div. I final, which Notre Dame-West Haven won 52-46. St. Bernard, the Div. II champ two years ago, was the ECC tournament champion this season. Notre Dame-West Haven has won 16 straight, including the SCC tournament championship.
Division II, No. 3 New London (23-4) vs. No. 1 Manchester (23-2), Sunday, 8:15 p.m.: Manchester is in its first state championship game since 1956 when it lost to Weaver, and looking for its first state title since 1938. The Red Hawks, bounced out of the CCC tournament by Windsor (whom they beat twice during the season), played a tough CCC schedule against the likes of East Catholic, Northwest Catholic and Windsor and beat them all at least once.
Five seniors start and one comes off the bench. New London won 17 straight until the ECC championship game, which the Whalers lost to St. Bernard 55-52. New London hasn’t been to the state final since 2011, when the Whalers won the Class L title. New London has experience playing at Mohegan Sun this season (the ECC championship was there); Manchester does not.
Division III, No. 7 Fitch (17-8) vs. No. 1 Bunnell (22-4), Saturday, 3 p.m.: Fitch lost four of its last five games heading into the state tournament, including a loss in the ECC tournament quarterfinals to NFA but has made a nice run through the state tournament. Bunnell was the SWC runner-up, winning 16 of its last 18 games.
Division IV, No. 23 Sheehan (12-13) vs. No. 1 Ellington (26-0), Sunday, 12:30 p.m.: If Sheehan wins, the Titans will reach the .500 mark. This game has an interesting dynamic: a Cinderella team that had a rough regular season and finished 8-12 in the tough SCC then took off once it reached the state tournament vs. Ellington, which is attempting to capture a perfect season with a talented young group of players.
Division V, No. 3 Old Lyme (22-4) vs. No. 1 Shepaug Valley (26-0), Saturday, 12:30 p.m.: Shepaug is the second unbeaten team in the state tournament this weekend and will face Old Lyme, last year’s Div. V state champion, led by high-scoring sophomore Eddie Fiske, Jr. Fiske Jr. had 35 points in the 77-71 semifinal win over Grasso Tech.
Girls
Class LL, Southington (26-1) vs. Sacred Heart (24-3), Sunday, 6:15 p.m.: Sacred Heart lost its first game of the season to Stamford and its last in the SCC championship to Hamden, 82-58 with only a loss to Christ the King (NY) in between. Sacred Heart was the runner-up to Hamden last year in Class LL and won Class MM in 2022. This is Southington’s first championship game appearance since 1993. The Knights won the CCC championship and only lost to Conard in late December.
Class L, No. 2 Bethel (23-3) vs. No. 1 Northwest Catholic (24-2), Saturday, 6:15 p.m.: Bethel is the SWC tournament champion; Northwest Catholic lost to eventual champion Southington in the CCC tournament semifinals and that loss gave the Lions momentum through the state tournament. The Lions are going for their third straight title after winning Class S two years ago and Class MM last year.
Class MM, No. 3 Sheehan vs. No. 1 East Catholic (24-3), Sunday, 3 p.m.: Urielle Abrokwa, who has scored over 1,000 points and has over 1,000 rebounds as a junior center, leads East Catholic, in its first state final since 2004. Sheehan coach Mike Busillo has been here two previous times, including last year, and went home without a title so he hopes the third time is the charm.
Class M, No. 2 Bacon Academy (24-2) vs. No. 1 Windham (25-1), Saturday, 10 a.m.: This is Windham’s second consecutive championship game appearance, advancing to the final with a 55-53 overtime win over ECC foe Stonington in the semifinal. Windham, which lost in the championship game to St. Paul last year, won the ECC Div. 2 championship. Bacon Academy won the ECC Div. 1 championship, and one of its two losses is to Windham, 42-38 on Jan. 11.
Class S, No. 4 Morgan (21-5) at No. 2 Coventry (23-3), Sunday, 10 a.m.: Coventry, the NCCC tournament champion, makes it back to the state final for the first time since 2022, when the Patriots lost to Thomaston. Morgan, the Shoreline Conference runner-up, last advanced to a final in 2014, when the Huskies lost the Class M title to New London.