After 10-Year Absence, Cadets, Montelli Return To State Championship Game

Welcome back,  where have you been?

The boys basketball team will end a 10-year absence in the state finals on Saturday when the Cadets take on former archrival Fairfield Prep in the Class LL title game at the Mohegan Sun Arena at 8 p.m..

It actually was the longest drought for St. Joseph since the Cadets won their first state crown under legendary coach Vito Montelli 36 years ago.

There was a time when it seemed like the Cadets were in the state final every year as they made 10 appearances in a 13-year span from 1985-1997.

Overall, the Cadets will be playing in their 16th championship game, sporting a record of 9-6. Montelli, of course, has been on the bench for all of them.

In his 49th season at St. Joseph and the winningest high school basketball mentor in New England history, Montelli is looking to break a tie with Harding's Charlie Bentley and former Wilbur Cross boss Bob Saulsbury for the most titles won by a boys basketball coach in state history.

Hillhouse is far and away the overall record holder with 21 championships, followed by Wilbur Cross (14) and Harding (12). St. Joseph is hoping to become the fourth school to reach double figures in titles and also would become the first team to win championships in all four classes (S, M, L and LL).

Over the past 3 1/2 decades, St. Joseph has had some exhilarating championship game victories and some heartbreaking defeats.

Remarkably, the Cadets have played in four title games decided by one point and six decided by two points.They are 2-4 in those contests.

It all started at the old New Haven Coliseum back in 1975, when Dannny Harrigan hit a free throw with one second left to give the Cadets their first title with a 64-63 victory over now defunct St. Thomas Aquinas.

A year later, the Cadets' bid for back-to-back titles ended in a 72-71 loss to Immaculate. To this day, that is still the only state championship for the Danbury school.

In 1985, St. Joseph lost a 55-53 triple overtime epic to Kolbe-Cathedral at the buzzer. The following year, St. Joseph edged Weston 51-50 in overtime in another thriller as Montelli's son, Tommy, scoring the winning basket.

Two years later in the biggest game in school history, St. Joseph denied Harding a record sixth consecutive state championship with a 69-66 victory. The Cadets ended that season ranked in the top 10 nationally.

In 1990, Montelli was seconds away from his first (and only) undefeated season, but for the second time the Cadets lost a state championship game at the buzzer, falling 66-65 to Bristol Central.

St. Joseph won three titles in the 1990s with its last championship coming in a 66-48 victory over Holy Cross in 2001.

Here is a list of St. Joseph's 15 championship game appearances:

 1975: St. Joseph 64, St. Thomas Aquinas 63, Class S
1976: Immaculate 72, St. Joseph 71, Class S
1977: St. Joseph 89, St. Thomas Aquinas 63, Class S
1978: Middletown 71, St. Joseph 57, Class M
1985: Kolbe-Cathedral 55, St. Joseph 53 (3OT), Class M
1986: St. Joseph 51, Weston 50 (OT), Class M
1987: St. Joseph 72, Kolbe-Cathedral 64, Class M
1988: St. Joseph 69, Harding 66, Class L
1990: Bristol Central 66, St. Joseph 65, Class L
1992: St. Joseph 85, East Catholic 67, Class L
1993: St. Joseph 76, Bullard-Havens 57, Class L
1995: Ansonia 56, St. Joseph 54, Class L
1996: St. Joseph 67, Torrington 47, Class L
1997: Harding 64, St. Joseph 58, Class L
2001: St. Joseph 66, Holy Cross 48, Class L