Going into Thursday night, the Brass City had a shot at a unheard of championship weekend inside Mohegan Sun Arena.
There was a chance that five Waterbury teams — including boys and girls from Holy Cross — could have been playing for state titles.
Unfortunately, there will be just two city teams in Uncasville, and both are playing Sunday. The Sacred Heart boys defeated Middletown 70-56 in the Class L state semifinal and will be joining the Holy Cross girls, who already punched their ticket in Class L.
The top-seeded Holy Cross girls will take on No. 2 Daniel Hand on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Class L final. The No. 1 Sacred Heart boys play No. 2 Notre Dame-Fairfield in a rematch of the 2016 Class M championship game at 5:30 p.m. That is the last game of the two-day slate.
The Waterbury Career Academy, Holy Cross and Kennedy boys teams all saw great runs come to an end one game shy of the ultimate destination.
Class L semifinal
No. 1 Sacred Heart 70, No. 4 Middletown 56
The Hearts were up by just two points heading into the fourth quarter, but pulled away from the Blue Dragons in the final eight minutes.
Isaiah Gaiter was again a big-time player for Sacred Heart (27-0). He had help from usual suspects Legend Johnson and Courie Stevenson. The Hearts led 17-14 after one quarter, then extended the margin to 32-25 by halftime.
Middletown cut the margin to 40-38 by the end of the third quarter, but Sacred Heart outlasted both its opponent and a leaky ceiling at Hartford’s Bulkeley High School to advance. The Hearts will play in their fourth straight state final, and they’re doing it without Raheem Solomon. Solomon played much of the NVL title game hurt and was lost for the state tournament.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Notre Dame-Fairfield routed No. 6 Wilton 81-61 at Fairfield Warde.
Class S semifinal
No. 6 Trinity Catholic (Stamford) 67, No. 23 Waterbury Career Academy 60
The Spartans were 13 points ahead and eight minutes from Uncasville, but they couldn’t hold on.
Trinity Catholic outscored WCA 31-11 in the final eight minutes to pull off a stunning 67-60 victory at Danbury High School. The Crusaders actually trailed by 16 at one point in the third quarter after Kyren Petteway went off from the 3-point line for the Spartans.
Petteway and Marquan Watson helped WCA jump out to the double-digit lead, but it wasn’t meant to be as the Spartans had a nightmare fourth quarter.
WCA, a team with one senior, finishes the season at 13-11. The Spartans lose Jalen Edwards to graduation, but are slated to return everyone else on their roster. WCA gained plenty of valuable experience this season, and it will be back stronger than ever next time around.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Westbrook blasted No. 12 Aerospace 80-51 at Madison’s Polson Middle School. Westbrook and Trinity play on Saturday at 12:30 for the Class S title.
Class M semifinal
No. 8 Bloomfield 74, No. 4 Holy Cross 65
It was also a case of what might have been for the Crusaders in their loss to the Warhawks at New Britain High School.
Holy Cross ran and dunked its way to a 35-27 halftime lead, but the second half was Bloomfield’s. The Warhawks outscored the Crusaders by 15 points in the third quarter to take a 52-45 lead. Bloomfield pulled away after Holy Cross managed to cut the deficit to 61-60 late in the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders finish the season 19-6. Holy Cross loses Jack Potter, Warren Morrison and Anthony Muchiri to graduation. The junior nucleus of Nyzair Rountree, DeAndre Wallace, Marcellus Gomes and Kerson Etienne is slated to return, so the Crusaders will be a really good team next season.
In the other semifinal, No. 11 Brookfield edged out No. 10 Tolland 73-70 on Wednesday at Maloney High School in Meriden. The Class M state final is Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Class LL semifinal
No. 4 East Hartford 59, No. 8 Kennedy 49
The Eagles cut their deficit to one point by halftime, but couldn’t overtake the Hornets at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
Kennedy trailed 24-23 at halftime, then East Hartford extended its advantage to 45-39 by the end of the third quarter. The Eagles closed within three points to open the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get any closer.
Kennedy finishes the season at 20-6. The Eagles lose seniors Ty Sands, Alex Bruno, Tyvon Stenson, Chomari Joseph, Kasim Brown and Mike Shehu to graduation.
“A great season comes to an end for our Boys Basketball team. Thanks for a great run. The entire Kennedy family is proud of you!” read a tweet on the Kennedy High School account Thursday night.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Hillhouse (New Haven) knocked off No. 3 East Catholic (Manchester) 53-45 at the University of Hartford. The Class LL state final is Saturday at 8:15 p.m.
