Middletown earns spot in semifinals

MIDDLETOWN >> Middletown’s boys basketball team is going to the Class L semifinals.

The fourth-seeded Blue Dragons built a 28-point lead, then withstood a furious Ledyard fourth quarter rally and won 81-69 before a roaring crowd of nearly 900 at the LaBella-Sullivan Gymnasium.

Middletown will play topseeded and undefeated Sacred Heart, a 58-52 winner over Windsor Wednesday at a site to be announced.

“I was very pleased with how we played,” said Middletown coach Rick Privott. “In their rally I think we got a little complacent, a little relaxed, and they hit their shots. We told the kids at the half they would make a run.”

Middletown (22-4) took an early lead and led 16-7 at the first turn and extended it in the second quarter to lead 35-21 at the half.

The Dragons blistered the nets in the third quarter, hitting Ledyard with a 22-8 run to lead 5729 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

It looked like the game was over. Guess again.

No. 5 seed Ledyard cut the lead to six at 68-62 on a hoop by Isiah McNair with 2:33 left. But that’s where the rally ended as Middletown hit 7-of-8 free throws and got huge baskets from DeAaron Lawrence (19 points), Ahmod Privott (15 points and Tyshaun James (20 points).

“This was Tyshaun’s best game of the year,” said Privott. “He rebounded [7 rebounds], he played with heart, he played defense [three blocks] and he ran the floor. That was the Tyshaun we needed.” The fast start was important. “”We scored on them early,” said Privott. “I’ve seen them play and the way they shoot, as we saw later in the game, that big start was important. “Ledyard is a very, very good

team. They’re deep, they have bigs, and they have great guards.”

One of their guards, Isiah McNair (21 points, 11 in the fourth quarter), scored his 1,000th career point in the furious fourth-quarter rally.

Steven Fletcher was also in double figures with 20, 10 in the fourth quarter.

Ahmod Privott had 15 points and five rebounds for Middletown. Dayquan Sin- gletary has 11 points and Charles Sprowl had 12 as Middletown had five players in double figures.

Ledyard finished 21-4.