Montville — Tyson Wheeler’s teammates, having seen Wheeler get kicked after taking a charge Tuesday night, could have plotted many responses, including more aimed at revenge than winning the basketball game.

Instead, the Saints, ever poised, executed perhaps their biggest single play of the season — a lob from Amyre Gray to Amare Marshall, who threw down and blew up Powers Gym.

The top-seeded Saints went on to throw No. 32 East Hartford down a flight of stairs, 84-67, and advance to the second round of the state Division II tournament at home again Thursday vs. No. 16 New Canaan.

The play in question: Wheeler took a charge early in the third period and was flat on his back when an East Hartford player, in Wheeler’s words, “grazed his foot from my crotch all the way up to my chest. Weird.”

After the officials slapped the player with a technical, Wheeler made the requisite free throw, followed by the Gray-to-Marshall jam that pushed the St. Bernard lead to 12.

“Powerful,” St. Bernard coach Mark Jones said. “They’ve got each other’s backs.”

Wheeler: “After that dunk went down, it was game. We’re hard to beat in this gym when we go on runs.”

Wheeler led the Saints with 19, while Marshall had 15, Cedrick Similien 13 and Gray 10. Dom LoDuca led East Hartford with 26 points, including eight 3-pointers.

The reward for the victory is New Canaan, which eliminated St. Bernard from the 2019 tournament (and was the 2019 state champion). The Rams play a disciplined, deliberate style that has given St. Bernard difficulty this season, evidenced by losses to Ridgefield and Malden (Ma.) Catholic.

“We have to focus on not being lackadaisical on defense,” Wheeler said. “I think we’re getting better at seeing that style of play. We played a lot better against Immaculate. We didn’t get frustrated.”

Jones said, “We’ve talked about it. We can’t gamble on defense. We’ve been in tune with this for a while. If you relax, they’ll beat you back door. Things like that.”

But then, New Canaan has plenty to be concerned about as well, what with the Saints having won seven straight at the most important time of year.

“Our goal since November has been to win a state championship,” Wheeler said. “We failed last year and it’s irked me ever since. We have the team to do it.”

m.dimauro@theday.com