Ledyard — Dave Cornish prefers his basketball team at Ledyard High School play at varying levels of three speeds: fast, faster and Road Runner.

Which is why many of the occupants inside the full house at Standish Gym were a little surprised Tuesday night when they saw the Colonels opt for a delay game early in the fourth period.

Ledyard had a five-point lead at the time.

It didn't last.

"We wanted to move the ball around and attack if we had a really good shot. I didn't tell the guys to pull the ball out. It's not how I like to play," Cornish said. "We took some time off the clock, but I'm still upset with myself because they came back and tied the game."

Happily for Ledyard, though, Cornish called timeout and resumed normal tempo. The ensuing 10-2 run helped them earn a 66-59 win over Bacon Academy, tying the Bobcats atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division.

Both teams are 4-1 in the division, one game ahead of Norwich Free Academy and Fitch.

Steven Fletcher led the Colonels (11-3 overall) with 23 points. Isiah McNair had 21.

"We got a little stagnant, but we were fine," Fletcher said. "It actually helped a little, because toward the end we had more energy. We knew how bad they wanted to beat us. We've been hearing them talk about it. To me, we were the underdogs because they were ahead of us in the ECC."

Not anymore.

Not only did Ledyard win the game, but it continued to develop its post game. Senior Kevin Hutchins finished with six points and 10 rebounds.

"If our big men play like this the rest of the season," McNair said, "we're going to have a good season."

Fletcher: "It makes us so much better and takes so much pressure off everybody else. They get to score and it makes them happy."

Cornish: "Our big guys aren't going to post up and score for us, but they can grab offensive rebounds. We have guys that can score. If we can get a few putbacks, it helps this team tremendously."

Bacon (10-3) rallied from a 53-44 deficit to tie the game with five minutes remaining. Jimmy Matos and sophomore post Reilly Dyer led the Bobcats with 18 points apiece.

Bacon plays another divisional game Thursday at Fitch and finishes the regular season at home versus Ledyard.

m.dimauro@theday.com

Twitter: @BCgenius