Wednesday night’s Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I boys’ basketball tournament championship game should come with the following disclaimer for fans: Warning, attempting to keep up with the action may cause whiplash.

Ledyard and Waterford like to run. And for the entire 32 minutes. It ensures an entertaining D-I final at the Francis X. Sweeney Field House. The game, scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m., will be streamed live on theday.com

The Division II final between St. Bernard and Windham precedes the D-I game at 5:30.

Waterford has averaged 78.8 points this season, the Colonels 73.1.

“I think the way we play makes other teams uncomfortable,” Waterford coach Bill Bassett said. “We run, we run, and we run. It catches up to you.”

Ledyard coach Dave Cornish said that both teams should score in the “80s and 90s,” adding, "yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Top-seeded Waterford is 19-3. The No. 2 Colonels are 18-3.

Ledyard has won four straight ECC division titles in Cornish’s six seasons, but has fallen short of winning the tournament championship. It won its only ECC tournament title in 1990.

The Colonels were eliminated in the semifinals in two of the previous three tournaments.

“That’s been on our mind a lot,” Ledyard senior Isiah McNair said. “All three years, we’ve fallen short.”

Those around the Lancers don’t know if the program has ever won an ECC tournament title.

The Colonels beat Waterford 88-74 during the regular season. Ledyard overwhelmed the Lancers inside with Trevor Hutchins scoring 30.

“He’s a very talented offensive player, especially for a big guy,” Bassett said about Hutchins. “What else was hurtful is that they have two very complementary wing players alongside him (McNair and Steven Fletcher).

“(Hutchins) just tore us up in the full-court set. It’s been a while, but I think he had well over 10 points on the fast break alone. He’s very nimble in that aspect. We weren’t very prepared for that.”

Mike Buscetto scored 40 for Waterford in the loss.

“Trevor Hutchins took over,” Buscetto said. “Now my teammates are at a whole other level. We want them again.”

The Lancers showed their mettle during Saturday’s 71-56 semifinal win over New London. They rallied in the second half and ended the game with a 19-3 run.

Collin Shannon and Buscetto both scored 17 for Waterford.

Division II final

St. Bernard has given coach Mark Jones gray hairs in its last two games. Hunter Baillargeon nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a 41-38 win over Griswold in the II quarterfinals.

If that wasn’t enough, Maxwell Lee made 15-foot baseline jumper with seven seconds left to give the Saints a 52-51 win over top-seeded Plainfield in Saturday’s semifinals.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen, and I played a lot of basketball,” Jones said about winning back-to-back games in such fashion.

The Saints (10-12) have gradually evolved this season. They lost eight of their first 11 games.

St. Bernard’s two games against Windham are perfect examples of how it has improved. The Whippets squished them in the first meeting 81-48 (Dec. 20). The Saints won the rematch 60-59 on Jan. 24.

“It’s been a long season as far as getting kids on the same page,” Jones said. “Learning how I coach, and to learn the style of play we need to play. Part of it was me, too. I was learning about a whole new group of kids and what they’re best at.”

“(Windham) is a really good team with a really good player in Willie Brown. He can go off for 40 at any point.”

Jones believes his team benefited from playing Ledyard prior to the tournament. Both had an open date on their schedule, so the Saints agreed to play at Ledyard on Feb. 20. The Colonels overwhelmed them 81-27.

“It was good for our kids to play a really, really good team like that,” Jones said. “That really shows what you need to work on. And if you want to be really good, at some point, if you want to win a championship at anything, you have to play teams that are really, really good.”

n.griffen@theday.com