The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Notre Dame-Fairfield is unanimous No. 1
Everything came together for the Notre DameFairfield boys basketball team this season.
First, Notre Dame defeated its nemesis, Sacred Heart, for the first time in three straight tries in a state championship game, last Sunday in the Division I final. It was the school’s first state title in school history.
Notre Dame was not only the state’s lone undefeated team (27-0), it was also the unanimous choice to finish No. 1 in the Register/GameTimeCT Top 10 poll. The Lancers, also the SouthWest Conference regularseason and tournament champions, garnered all 18 first-place votes and 540 total points.
“It’s great. I’m happy for the seniors, the guys that have been here the longest. Three times they hadn’t been able to experience this and now, we’ve won a game against a great program, we were able to pay them back for what they did to us last year. It’s just great,” Notre Dame coach Chris Watts told Hearst Connecticut Media following the 65-60 win over Sacred Heart.
Notre Dame had spent much of the season ranked second. Sacred Heart, which saw its streak of four consecutive state championships and its 107-game winning streak against CIAC teams come to an end, placed second with 490 points.
East Catholic, which was the No. 1 team since the preseason before losing to Windsor in the Division I quarterfinals in double overtime, finished third (418 points).
Bassick, which lost to Notre Dame in the semifinals, placed fourth (398 points), while Waterford, the Division III champion, rounded out the top five (362).
This was the first time the CIAC went to a fivedivision format. Division II winner Immaculate was seventh (306) and Kolbe Cathedral took the 10th spot (229).
“The kids lived in the present every day. They didn’t look ahead, they didn’t look back and that’s why I think we’re 27-0,” Watts said after Sunday’s game. “They believed in every minute of every day and they took it seriously.”