It was a defensive struggle - or bad offense, take your pick - Tuesday night at TD Bank.

Hillhouse took the title 53-47 in overtime over Fairfield Prep. It was the sixth title for the Academics, tying them with Wilbur Cross.

The Academics trailed the entire fourth quarter until Andre Anderson's driving layup tied the game at 39-39.

Then Hillhouse really turned up the defense...blocking two shots on Prep's final possession to force overtime.

In the four-minute extra session, Hillhouse forced seven turnovers (26 overall). Raiquan Clark was the star, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Hillhouse held 7-foot center Paschal Chukwu without a field goal. Chukwu finished with eight points,20 rebounds, and 10 blocks. He will be a force in the Class LL state tournament.

What will get lost in the title will be Hilllhouse's own subpar offense: 27 percent overall (17 of 63), including just 2 of 20 from 3-point range. Similar shooting numbers three years ago led North Haven to a stunning upset over the Academics.

So the offense will have to be better than that if Hillhouse wants to return to the Mohegan Sun next month for the Class LL championship final. The only way Hillhouse could see Prep for a fourth time would be at the Sun in the final.

It would be surprising if neither of these teams got there.