I kept hearing how the SCC and basketball as a whole was down this year. Yet the Southern Connecticut Conference teams keep faring well in the opening round of the tournament.
Cheshire hammered Stamford 72-52 in Class LL. The Rams' reward? Traveling to Trumbull to face top-ranked St. Joseph, which pulled away from another SCC team, Shelton, 59-38.
Hamden was like Jekyll and Hyde in the fourth quarter against Glastonbury. The Green Dragons held Glastonbury scoreless for almost 6 minutes in the fourth quarter to build a double-digit lead, only to see the Tomahawks score 18 points in the final 2:26, almost forcing overtime before falling 74-71. Fairfield Prep (63-58) and Hillhouse (72-37) advanced past Norwalk and Conard, respectively.
Two other SCC teams fell in the LL opening round Tuesday: Xavier to New London (92-77) and Amity to Simsbury (48-46). A surprise in the bracket was No. 7 Crosby falling to No. 26 Trumbull 58-52.
Another SCC team, Foran, advanced past O'Brien Tech 67-43. The only other surprise in that division was No. 23 Bacon Academy ousting No. 10 Stonington 61-56.

So if you are keeping score at home, the SCC went 10-4 in the opening round of the tournament.