The CIAC state tournament pairings were announced on Wednesday and in Class S, Coginchaug earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
The Blue Devils still have some unfinished business, however, as they will seek to win their second consecutive Shoreline tournament. Coginchaug will face Cromwell at 7 p.m. on Friday at Valley Regional in Deep River. The two teams split the season series with each winning on its home court.
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Coginchaug (21-1) easily defeated Hyde in a Shoreline semifinal game on Tuesday, winning 56-31. In the other semifinal matchup, Cromwell defeated Old Saybrook, 58-37.
Cromwell (20-2) is the No. 5 seed in Class M. The Panthers finished 18-2 with three other teams in Class M but missed out on the tiebreakers. Weaver (19-1) earned the No. 1 seed. Conference tournament results are not included in the CIAC rankings.
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Portland, the defending Class S champions, got the No. 6 seed in Class S. The Highlanders first-round opponent on Tuesday will be no stranger to them. Portland (15-5) will play No. 27 Hale-Ray, a conference rival it defeated twice during the regular season. After beating the Little Noises 47-23 at home on Dec. 22, the Highlanders had a much more difficult go of it when the teams met in East Haddam on Jan. 26. Portland won, 43-42, a score indicative of Hale-Ray’s improvement over the course of the season. Hale-Ray (8-12) finished strong to end an up-and-down year and qualify for the postseason with upset victories at Old Saybrook and at home against Putnam.
Also making the tournament from the Shoreline Conference: in Class S, Old Saybrook (14-8) is the No. 14 seed, Morgan (13-8) the No. 12 seed and Hyde (15-7) is ranked No. 9. In Class M, Haddam-Killingwoth (11-10) is seeded No. 24.
Danbury (Class LL) and E.O Smith (Class L) were the other No. 1 seeds and the only two undefeated teams in the state. To view the Class LL, L, M and S pairings, see the attached pdfs.
First Round
Monday
No. 28 Bullard-Havens at No. 5 Cromwell, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Haddam-Killingworth at No. 9 Plainfield, 7 p.m.
Tuesday
No. 27 Hale-Ray at Portland, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Coventry at Hyde, 7 p.m.
No. 21 Bolton at No. 12 Morgan, 7 p.m.
No. 19 Lyman Memorial at No. 14 Old Saybrook, 7 p.m.
Note: Shoreline tournament results included in overall records in this story.
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