Middletown — The Art Kohs Holiday Invitational championship will feature a rematch of last season's Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I boys' basketball final.

Ledyard and Waterford won opening-round games at Xavier High School on Wednesday night — the Colonels beat host Xavier 66-56 and the Lancers defeated Glastonbury 77-49 — and the two rivals will play in the annual holiday tournament final at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

Ledyard beat Waterford in the ECC tourney final last March.

The Colonels (2-0) rode a big second half to beat the Falcons, scoring 46 points in the second half after the game was tied 20-20 at halftime. Trevor Hutchins scored 22 points for Ledyard, while Devin Rickerson added 18 (including 6-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter) and Ken Turner had 12 points.

The Lancers (4-0) had an easier time against Glastonbury, building a 46-17 halftime lead and cruising past the Tomahawks. Mikey Buscetto had 25 points, seven assists and five steals for Waterford, while Walker Sutman had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Liam Spellman had 17 rebounds.

In other games:

• Hunter Baillargeon scored 19 points to lead five St. Bernard players in double figures as the Saints defeated Capital Prep 75-70 in the opening round of the Fitch Holiday Tournament. St. Bernard (4-0) will play Berlin, a 64-45 winner over Fitch, for the title on Friday. Joseph Beltran added 15 points for the Saints, while Connor Svab and Max Lee each had 12 and De'Andre Williams 11. Baillargeon, Beltran and Svab each made three 3-pointers.

• East Lyme rode a dominating third quarter to a 56-39 win over South Windsor in the opening round of the Bristol Central Christmas Tournament. The Vikings (3-0) will play the host Rams in Friday's final at 7:30 p.m. East Lyme trailed 21-20 at halftime but outscored the Bobcats 26-12 in the third quarter to take control. Dev Ostrowski scored 21 points for the Vikings and Luke Leonard added 10. Ostrowski and JR Gandenberger each made a pair of 3-pointers.

• Jalen Benson finished with 16 points and six steals in New London's 69-55 loss to Danbury. Eduardo Gonzalez added 12 points and Elijah Martinez 10 for New London (1-1).

• Mount St. Charles of Woonsocket (R.I.) defeated Wheeler 57-35. Clayton Carini scored 10 points to lead Wheeler (1-4).

Girls

• Spencer Roman and Cora Sawyer each had 14 points with two 3-point field goals to lift New London past Thomaston 57-23 in the semifinals of the Notre Dame Appalachian Christmas Tournament in Fairfield. Tai Pagan added 14 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and a block for New London (5-0) and Rosalee Nicholson had six assists and six steals. The Whalers, who led 37-8 at halftime, will play Notre Dame in the championship game of the tournament beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Notre Dame beat Hand 63-52 in the second semifinal.

• Lauren Velazquez had 10 points and eight steals to highlight Montville's 32-24 victory over Bristol Central in the opening round of the Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament at North Haven. The Indians (3-1) will play the North Haven in Thursday's final at 5 p.m. Emily Meigs added nine points and eight rebounds for Montville and Angel Skulczyck had seven points and 11 rebounds.

• Emily Rivera scored 14 points to lead Old Lyme past St. Bernard 60-29. Taylor Thompson added 12 points for Old Lyme (4-0). Emily Nelson had 20 points for St. Bernard (2-3).

• Makayla Poirier-Vaughters scored 14 points and Aaliyah Brittan had 11 in Norwich Free Academy's 45-42 victory over Waterford, getting the Wildcats (1-4) their first win of the season. Julianna Bonilla finished with 18 points for Waterford (3-2).

• E.O. Smith, sparked by an 11-0 run in the final two minutes of the third quarter, defeated Ledyard 49-40 in the opening round of the Centaur Holiday Classic at Woodstock Academy. The Panthers (5-1) turned a four-point deficit into a 34-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Sarah Serbascewicz led the Colonels (3-2) with 16 points while Julia Lavin added 11 and Jade Langworthy nine. Ledyard will play Windsor in Friday's consolation game at 1:30 p.m.