Brandon Sherrod recorded a triple-double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 12 blocked shots) to help second-ranked Stratford outlast Kolbe Cathedral 72-58 at the University of Bridgeport.
Stratford is legit, having won 44 straight regular-season games. With Sherrod, a 6-8 center, rejecting and altering shots, the Red Devils will be tough to beat in the postseason.
In other action, Fairfield Prep qualified for both the CIAC Class LL and SCC tournaments by beating Cheshire 83-60. That makes 13 teams in the SCC tournament beginning next Thursday.
North Haven and Sheehan both won Friday night and should lock up the second and third seeds behind Hillhouse in the SCC tournament. All three will receive byes into the quarterfinals on Feb. 27.

Undefeated Stratford, the No. 2 team in the Register Top 10 poll, travels to Bridgeport to take on Kole Cathedral to determine the top team in the South-West Conference. The game will be played at the Hub, Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium at the University of Bridgeport.
Kolbe features scorer Ronnie Underwood and an aggressive defense under first-year head coach Chris Smith, the former schoolboy star for the Cougars who went onto become the all-time leading scorer at the University of Connecticut.
Stratford features big man Brandon Sherrod and a terrific guard in Russell Payton. The last time these two teams met, Kolbe ended Stratford's 34-game winning streak in the SWC tournament quarterfinals last Feb. 28.

Should be a good one. Get there early.

Hamden continued its hot streak by winning at Career 60-50. Ryen Vilmont had 30 points, including 19 of 20 from the line. That's incredible for a NBA player, let alone a high school player.
Gary Williams had 32 for West Haven, but it wasn;t enough as Law held on for the 63-58 win behind Kyle Wiggins' 24 points.
Kyle Moran's game-high 19 points was good enough for Seymour to win at Ansonia 56-53 and pull into a first-place tie with Ansonia in the NVL Brass Division.
Wes Nuhn hit an alley-oop dunk with 1 second left to help Haddam-Killingworth edge Morgan 59-57 in Shoreline Conference action. H-K must beat both Cromwell and Portland to qualify for postseason play.
Hyde remainded undefeated by whacking Coginchaug 69-42.
Stratford remained undefeated by hammering New Milford 88-48, setting up the big SWC showdown Friday night against Kolbe Cathedral at the University of Bridgeport.

Scores and scoring leaders have already been updated at:

www.nhregister.com/boyshoops

It was a banner day for the Wilbur Cross Governors, first winning the city girls' matchup 52-51 in double overtime against Hillhouse, then prevailing over the Hillhouse boys 63-58 in the nightcap at the New Haven Athletic Center.

Ed Murray had 17 points for the Govs, who held Hillhouse scoreless over the final 2 minutes of the game and scored the game's final eight points. The Govs doubled Hillhouse point guard Freddie Wilson almost every time he touched the ball down the stretch.

Wilson did not score in the fourth quarter and no one could step up in his absence. That could be a blueprint for success against the Academics in the Class LL state tournament.

As for Cross, it is playing its best basketball at the right time - heading into the postseason. The question is: Can the Govs sustain it?

Don't be surpised if these two city rivals meet again in the SCC tournament at Quinnipiac University.

today at 4 p.m. at the New Haven Athletic Center. The Hillhouse-Cross girls game starts at 2.

The rest of the SCC boys games, including West Haven-Law and Hamden-Career, are now tomorrow.

Also postponed are Coginchaug-Hyde, which is being played at Wilbur Cross, Seymour-Ansonia and Stratford-New Milford, all until tomorrow.

Here is the link to this week's Top 5 at 5 countdown of the Register's Top 10 boys' basketball poll.

Kyle Wiggins of Law and Brian Salzillo of North Haven are the area's leading scorer and three-point shooter, respectively. They both played on the same AAU team. Their story as teammates will be part of Tuesday's notebook in the print edition of the Register.

Also, Hamden has won eight of nine games under new coach Jarrad Beck. That turnaround can also be found in Tuesday's edition.