Hillhouse advanced to its third Class LL state championship in four years with a win over Xavier in the semifinals.

The Academics will face fellow SCC team Fairfield Prep for the fourth time this season in the final, likely Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Mike Cardillo of the Connecticut Post has the account of Prep's win over East Hartford.

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.

No. 1 Hillhouse hosts No. 2 Fairfield Prep tonight at 6 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Here is a brief preview of tonight's action.

The latest Top 10 poll came out on Monday.

How did the first game turn out? Hillhouse won 59-44 at Alumni Hall.

Things pretty much went as expected Tuesday night in the SCC.

The game of the night was in New Haven: Wilbur Cross, behind Josh Fleming's career-high 33 points, beat Xavier 71-63 in overtime. The Govs are off to a 7-1 start behind first-year coach Kevin Walton.

The other game in New Haven was more decisive than expected: Fairfield Prep won 73-57 in a game that wasn't that close — Prep led 42-10 at halftime.Prep is still undefeated and headed for Tuesday's showdown with Hillhouse at home.

Branford coach Jake Palluzzi earned win No. 299 in the Hornets' 51-44 win over Hamden. The first attempt at No. 300 will be Friday at Career.

Notre Dame-West Haven has already won FOUR MORE GAMES than last season, now at 5-2 after beating East Haven57-47. Shelton also moved to 5-2 after beating Guilford 46-41.

North Haven took home win No. 2 of the season against West Haven, 55-44. And Amity edged Hand 61-59 as Zac Campbell went for 29 points for the Spartans (6-2). Hillhouse and Sheehan also won over Lyman Hall and Law, respectively.

The Foran at Cheshire game was postponed due to roof repair in the gym. The makeup date is Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.

We took the weekend off from hoops to rest, take in some NCAA hoop games and the selection show, and now it's time to reconvene for the final week of the season.

The biggest game on Monday's quarterfinal-round schedule is the Class LL tilt between No. 5 New London and No. 4 Windsor. The game has been moved to CCSU to accommodate fans to see what is like a final. For those who cannot get there, CPTV Sports will be broadcasting the game live. That can be seen on Comcast cable channels 185, 187 and 744 and on the Cox Communications cable system channel 144.

The next biggest game on the docket is Ridgefield vs. St. Joseph, a matchup of FCIAC foes that became even more heated when the CIAC moved this game as well to Fairfield Warde from St. Joes. As you can imagine, the St. Joes contingent was unhappy to say the least and there has been some sniping back and forth in the media between the coaches (Vito Montelli and Carl Charles) who don't like each other much to begin with.
So the sideline antics may be fun to watch to, but these are two good teams in a game that should go down to the final minutes.

I will be at the Floyd Little Athletic Center for Hillhouse hosting Manchester at 6 p.m. Don't be so fast to put this one in the win column for Hillhouse. Manchester advanced to the CCC tournament final, beating previously-undefeated Hartford Public along the way.

The other LL game is New Britain, which upset Public on Thursday, at Fairfield Prep, trying to make another run to the Class LL state finals.

In Class M, top-seeded Enfield, the NCCC champ, hosts Ledyard, the ECC runner-up, Watertown, the NVL champion, hosts Brookfield, Waterford hosts Valley Regional, last year's Class S champ, and Kaynor Tech, the CSC champion, hosts Notre Dame-Fairfield, the SWC tournament runner-up.

The SCC division races are virtually over with. Career (Oronoque), Hillhouse (Hammonasset) and Cheshire (Housatonic) have already clinched. Fairfield Prep is one win away from tying for the Quinnipiac Division title. Xavier is the only team still with a shot after splitting with Prep during the regular season.

Amazingly, 18 teams still have a chance to qualify for both the state and SCC tournaments. That won't turn out to be the case in the end but it should still make for an interesting February in the SCC.

After a Tuesday bye week for most SCC teams, the league returns with a full schedule this evening.
The biggest game is No. 7 Career vs. Wilbur Cross at 6 p.m. at the New Haven Athletic Center. Something has to give between these Oronoque Division foes: Career has won eight straight since a season-opening loss to Hillhouse while Cross has won four straight.
The top two teams play in the Hammonasset (3-0 Hillhouse at 3-0 Hand) and two of the top teams (West Haven at Fairfield Prep) play in the Quinnipiac.The first installment of the battle of Wallingford is tonight as a desperate 2-7 Lyman Hall team plays at Sheehan at 6 - part of a boys-girls doubleheader.
One big game in the Shoreline Conference is 9-1 Cromwell visiting 8-1 Coginchaug at 7:30 p.m.
In other action, Stratford travels to Notre Dame-Fairfield (SWC), Danbury tried to avoid losing its third straight in the FCIAC when it plays at unbeaten Ridgefield and Holy Cross tries to hand Watertown it second straight loss (NVL).

The holiday itself may be over but we have some Christmas tournaments this week that are worth checking out, none better than the Northeast Catholic Classic at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.


Three of last year's state champions - St. Joseph (Class LL), New London (Class L) and Trinity Catholic (Class M), along with New York powerhouse Archbishop Molloy, are in a round-robin tournament beginning Tuesday at 6. Trinity faces New London, followed by Archbishop Molloy vs. St. Joseph at 8. On Wednesday, Molloy faces Trinity Catholic at 6, followed by St. Joseph vs. New London.

Masuk hosts Shelton in its own Christmas Tournament at 7 Tuesday. That game is preceded by Norwalk vs. Bunnell at 5:15. The consolation and championship finals are at the same times in Monroe Thursday.

In the Branford Holiday Festival Tuesday, the hosts face Hewlett (N.Y.) at 6, followed by Hand vs. East Lyme at 7:45. On Thursday, Hand takes on Hewlett at 6, followed by Branford and East Lyme at 7:45.

In the Candy Cane Classic at Woodland Tuesday, the hosts face Ansonia at 7, preceded by Amity vs. Oxford at 5. The consolation and championship are Wednesday at the same times.

In the Kohs Holiday Classic, East Hartford faces Glastonbury at 5:30 p.m., followed by Valley Regional at Xavier at 7:15. The consolation and championship are at the same times on Wednesday.

A rematch looms in Fairfield Prep's tournament final on Friday between Prep and Notre Dame-Fairfield that was quite a game a year ago. That will be at Fairfield University at 8 p.m. if the favorites can prevail.

Then there is Thursday's Vanguard Classic at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven. The schedule is as follows: West Haven vs.Hamden, 11:45 a.m.; Hyde vs. Kolbe Cathedral, 1:30 p.m.; Hillhouse vs. Harding, 3 p.m.; Hillhouse vs. Career (girls), 5 p.m.; Career vs. Stratford, 7 p.m.; and Wilbur Cross vs. Crosby, 8:45 p.m.

The Vanguard Classic, originally scheduled for Wilbur Cross High on Dec. 29, looks to be moving to the Floyd Little Athletic Center, according to tournament organizer Michael Jefferson.
The reason? He is expecting more people than Cross can hold. Witht the six games on tap, you can understand why.
For $10, here is what you can watch that day (times approximate):
Hamden vs. West Haven, 11:45 a.m. - Hamden currently 3-0
Hyde vs. Kolbe Cathedral, 1:15 p.m. - Both teams currently undefeated
Harding vs. Hillhouse, 3 p.m. - Hillhouse currently 4-0
Career vs. Hillhouse girls, 4:30 p.m. - Hillhouse undefeated and ranked No. 1
Career vs. Stratford, 6 p.m.
Wilbur Cross vs. Crosby, 7:45 p.m. - more than likely, this game will not start until well after 8 p.m.

We knew from Saturday's win over New London that the Academics would be better defensively. Tuesday's win over Wilbur Cross only emphasized that fact.
Once the Academics put on the full-court pressure - midway through the third quarter - it began to wear down the Governors a little. And the Acs made their free throws down the stretch to - 10 straight once Cross committed its seventh team foul - to seal the 47-40 win. Guard Andre Anderson had eight of those free throws.
That defense and good free-throw shooting overshadowed what was another lackluster offensive performance by both teams - which seems to be the norm in this Elm City rivalry. Both teams combined to shoot 3-of-22 from the floor.
With the three-guard rotation of Anderson, Rich Bronson and Bobby Bynum, the Academics have options who can shoot it and break you down in isolation.
For Cross, it looks to be just Kyle Holmes right now - 20 points against Hillhouse. He will need help in the big games if the Govs want to be as good - if not better - than last season.
The rematch is Feb. 1.

Two games into the SCC season...what have we learned?

a) Amity is 2-0 and may be better than we thought
b) North Haven is 2-0, already halfway to last year's win total. We knew they would be better, but how much?
c) Hamden is 2-0, but the jury is still out.
d) Branford as expected is 2-0
e) Wilbur Cross and Hillhouse are 2-0. Both have games later today at the Doc Hurley in Hartford against New London and Bulkeley, respectively. Then they both play each other next Tuesday. Still way too early for these two Elm City rivals to play but, that is what the SCC schedule says, so be at the Floyd Little Athletic Center at 6.

those SCC teams that are 0-2 have some work to do to try and get into good position by the time the calendar turns to 2012... IN JUST TWO WEEKS!!!!

In other news...
In addition to Career losing to Hillhouse, Crosby was the only other top 10 team to lose. Wilby hammered Crosby 86-59 Friday night. Wilby looks to have returned to power in the NVL.

We will know a little more after today's games at Doc Hurley. Stay tuned...

Hillhouse come a thrilling 48-47 win over Career Wednesday night to face Notre Dame-West Haven tis evening. Then the Academics hop on a bus on Saturday to travel to Hartford to face top-ranked New London in the Doc Hurley Classic at Weaver High at 2:45.
Wilbur Cross comes off its win over Hand to play at Cheshire at 6:45 p.m. The Govs, too, play in the Hurley Classic Saturday, facing Bulkeley following the Hillhouse-New London game.
Career tries to bounce back at Lyman Hall this evening. Fairfield Prep is at Foran in other SCC interdivision action. An intriguing non-conference game pits Hyde at Stratford, two of the four 2010-11 state champions. This is the first time the two teams are facing one another. It is the season opener for both teams.

Hillhouse will be playing Paul Robeson out of Brooklyn (NY) in the 8TH ANNUAL BIG APPLE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL on Monday at 11 a.m. at Baruch College in NYC  (corner of E. 24th Street & Lexington Ave.).

Hillhouse plays in the first of four games. St. Thomas More, featuring Andre Drummond, the former Capital Prep player and one of the top players in the entire region, will face Quality Education (NC).

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students with an ID.

For the rest of Monday's schedule, and Saturday's schedule and additional information on the Invitational, visit the tournament website here

Mount Vernon, the same New York-based school that produced former UConn standout Ben Gordon, now with the Detroit Pistons, invades New Haven on Wednesday for a regular-season showdown against Hillhouse at the New Haven Athletic Center. Game time is 6 p.m.

Chck out Tuesday's edition of the Register for how this non-conference game came about, along with injury updates to key players in the area, along with up-to-date standings and scoring leaders.

Here are the results for the top 10 teams this week.

Please check out the new top 5 at 5 on Monday night at www.newhavenregister.com/boyshoops.

Top 10


1) Hillhouse (9-1) lost to East Hartford 68-62; def. Hand 72-51
2) Bridgeport Central (9-0) def. Westhill 55-45; def. Bassick 65-58
3) New Britain (11-0) def. Wilbur Cross 67-49; def. Newington 48-42; def. Southington 77-63
4) Stratford (10-0) def. Newtown 72-69; def. Pomperaug 59-55
5) Hyde (11-0) def. Westbrook 54-50; def. East Hampton 84-34
6) Holy Cross (11-1) def. Crosby 78-77; def. Seymour 65-56
7) New London (10-1) def. Plainfield 100-46; def. East Lyme 90-58
8) Sacred Heart (10-2) def. Naugatuck 68-49; def. Wolcott 96-78
9) Bloomfield (10-1) def. RHAM 84-58; def. Hartford Public 86-48
10) East Catholic (9-2) lost to Northwest Catholic 72-70; def. Manchester 58-37

Notre Dame edged Xavier 65-62 at home to take a one-game lead in the SCC Quinnipiac Division. Tom Doyle hit the biggest shot, a 3-pointer with 2:31 left to put Notre Dame up for good. Matt Pacheco led the way with 18 points for Notre Dame, which has never won the SCC Quinnipiac.
Defending champion Sheehan remained unbeaten in the SCC Housatonic by beating Lyman Hall 54-49. Mason Bush led the Titans with 13 points while Rich Bronson had 15 for Lyman Hall.

In other action, Branford improved to 10-1 by beating Shelton, Crosby snapped a three-game losing streak by blitzing Derby and Hillhouse rebounded from its first loss of the season by beating Hand at home.

Career plays at Wilbur Cross Saturday night at 5. For up to date scores from Friday, along with the up to date scoring leaders through Friday's games, visit:

www.nhregister.com/boyshoops

The Register Top 10 went unblemished Tuesday:
1) Hillhouse beat Foran 80-53
2) Sacred Heart def. Watertown 70-33
3) Bridgeport Central def. St. Joseph 68-63
T5) Stratford def. SMSA 63-50
7) Holy Cross def. Torrington 77-51
8) New London def. Killingly 98-41
9) Windsor def. South Windsor 100-53
10) Crosby def. Wilby 73-67

On Monday No. 4 New Britain and T5 Hyde beat Northwest Catholic and Hale-Ray, respectively.

The teams that were supposed to win, did win on the opening night of division play in the SCC:
Career beat East Haven and Cross edged Branford on a shot by Gerald McClease in the Oronoque.
Hand edged Guilford and Hillhouse beat Foran in the Hammonasset.
Lyman Hall edged Cheshire while Sheehan won comvincingly at Shelton in the Housatonic.
Xavier (over Hamden) and Notre Dame (over West Haven) prevailed in the Quinnipiac.

Here is the latest Register top 10 boys' basketball poll for the week of January 5: