St. Bernard defeats Staples for first state title since 1982
UNCASVILLE — The mission is complete for St. Bernard.
The entire season was dedicated to this moment Sunday night, winning the CIAC Division II state championship. Every practice, every game included plenty of references by both players and coaches to try and help complete the mission.
The top-seeded Saints defeated No. 7 Staples 6350 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, a game they had in control from the start.
“It was super-important because if you don’t talk about it and you don’t practice like you want to be a state champion, then you are not going to get there,” said St. Bernard sophomore Amyre Gray, who had 11 points and four assists. “It’s super-duper important, coach Mark (Jones) pushes us every single day and I’m grateful for it.”
The Saints (25-3) shot over 50 percent from the floor and had balanced scoring. But it was that motivation to not only get to Mohegan, but to win that first state championship in 41 years.
The great Harold Pressley, who played on that 1982 St. Bernard championship team and went on to play on the national championship team at Villanova, reached out to Jones upon reaching the final, Jones said.
Jones asked Pressley to call during Saturday’s practice. Another key player on that team came by practice to talk to the kids.
“Harold Pressley told us to go in and play for the city and play for the school,” said senior guard Cedric Similien, who will play at Division II Mercy next season.
Said Jones: “He was telling them to settle in and make sure they enjoy their experience. … With a guy who played in the NBA that’s a really good player who is checking on them to make sure they are doing good and in good spirits, that means a lot.”
St. Bernard last reached a state final in 1985.
The Saints still had to go out and win their last game against a program having a special season of its own. Staples reached the FCIAC tournament final for the first time after beating Ridgefield for the second time in the semifinals.
Then the Wreckers (21-7) picked off No. 2 seed Holy Cross and No. 3 Fairfield Warde in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to get to a state final for the first time