Waterford — There was some kind of mark under Max Lee's right eye after Wednesday's Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II boys' basketball final.

Perhaps it was a scratch. Perhaps it was a welt forming. Whatever it was, it was just another day in the basketball life of the St. Bernard School junior.

"It seems like I'm always in the middle of things and always getting hit," Lee said.

Lee was in the middle of things again on Wednesday against Woodstock Academy, once again providing a little bit of everything that the Saints needed to defend their title.

Lee had eight points, nine rebounds and two steals to earn tournament MVP honors as St. Bernard pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 51-45 win and its second ECC Division II championship at the Francis X. Sweeney Fieldhouse.

"Sometimes we ask him to play guard, sometimes we ask him to play big guy, but he doesn't complain — he just plays his tail off," Saints head coach Mark Jones said. "His worth doesn't show up in points. It shows up in the other things like leadership and getting guys in the right spot, stuff that people don't always see.

"For him to get the MVP was fitting."

Joseph Beltran (14 points) and De'Andre Williams (13 points) joined Lee on the all-tournament team for top-seeded St. Bernard (21-2), which won its 15th straight game.

Cole Hackett (six points, 12 rebounds) and Aaron Johnson (nine points) were named to the all-tournament team for No. 7 Woodstock (10-13). Luke Mathewson added 12 points.

The Centaurs returned no starters this season and started 2-8.

"They're (the starting lineup) all juniors, so they all got on-the-job training," Woodstock coach Mike Harten said. "We turned the page after the first 10 games. 'Okay, that season is in the books. Let's move on to the next season.' They stepped up and responded to the challenge."

The Saints trailed by five with less than six minutes left when they made their move. Beltran made a 3-pointer, Lee added a layup, and two Beltran free throws pushed St. Bernard ahead, 43-41, with 5:11 remaining.

Mathewson tied it with a pull-up jumper on the other end.

Brian Bergeron, who hadn't scored all game, proceeded to step up for St. Bernard. He put back a missed 3-pointer for the go-ahead basket with over four minutes remaining. His steal and layup gave the Saints a 47-43 lead with 2:12 remaining.

"I've been doing this all year," Bergeron said about playing big in the big moments. "It's what I do. I'm not going to make the huge plays every game, but I'm going to give you heart and effort every day. That's what I'm going to do."

Jones said, "He was in-and-out (of the game), in-and-out. He ended up playing the last (few minutes) of the fourth quarter and made huge plays for us. He does stuff like that. He's another guy that some of the times (his performance) doesn't show up (in the scorebook), but he made the big, winning plays."

n.griffen@theday.com