Ledyard boys run wild in fourth to beat Montville

Montville — By the fourth period, Dave Cornish's patience was eroding. His assistant coach, Troy McKelvin, exploded off the bench in anger and unloaded a foot stomp that rattled the gym walls, later saying he learned that move from his old coach, Ralph Roggero.

And so with Ledyard High School holding a two-point lead Tuesday over stubborn Montville — more confident Montville, too — Cornish resorted to elemental basketball strategy that was designed to expose .. . somebody.

"Straight up man (to man defense)," Cornish said. "See who's accountable and who's dogging it."

The ensuing 25-point run suggested that Cornish's players were paying attention.

The Colonels used the 25-0 run to post a 73-46 win over Montville in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division.

Ledyard (12-5, 4-5) won exactly once last year.

Maybe that's why the student section at Ledyard home games bows to Cornish and waves photos of him during the games.

Cornish, who spent many years as an assistant at New London, has authored one of the great turnaround stories in the history of the league.

"It seems like the kids are getting it," Cornish said after Tuesday's games. "But every now and then ... "

This was an "every now and then" for a while Tuesday. Ledyard's 25-14 lead early shrunk to 30-28 by halftime. Montville (3-14, 0-9) trailed by two with seven minutes left, led by Nick Clemons (10 points) and Matt Cicchese (eight).

And then Thomas Whipple and Darnay Gray combined for 15 points over the next three minutes. Gray led the Colonlels with 26 points and 12 rebounds and Whipple, the son of former Ledyard great Tom Whipple, had 22.

Cornish was on the bench last season as Craig Parker's assistant at New London, a season in which the Whalers went unbeaten, won the state Class L title and finished ranked No. 1 in Connecticut.

"Every once in a while, I forget where I am," Cornish said, "and (McKelvin) has to pull me back and say, 'you're not in New London anymore.'"

The Colonels, nonetheless, are no longer an afterthought in basketball, winning games and turning their home games into events. Cornish said he's even noticed " little resentment" throughout the league at Ledyard's rapid improvement.

"But overall, it's been a great experience here," he said. "I went to the New London game (Monday night) and someone came up to me and said, 'you're doing a great job. I had no idea who he was. It's nice people notice."

m.dimauro@theday.com