There was but one fact that made Wheeler High boys’ coach Stephen Bailey smile more than last year’s 15-victory regular season:

His entire roster would return.

And that’s what compelled Bailey to amass perhaps the most competitive boys’ basketball schedule in the history of one of Connecticut’s smallest high schools. Wheeler’s 222 total students ranks it 180th of 185 overall schools under the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s umbrella. Only Thomaston (201), Westbrook (200), Capital Prep (176), Parish Hill (127) and the Academy of the Holy Family (35) are smaller.

Bailey and the Lions are doing quite well, too, a 9-3 record after consecutive wins over Waterford and Ledyard. Wheeler sits as the No. 8 seed in Division IV, the state’s second-smallest division.

“We knew we had everyone coming back and wanted to challenge them as much as possible,” Bailey said last week before his Lions needed overtime to win at Waterford.

Wheeler has already played bigger schools Waterford (758), Ledyard (773), Branford (828) and Guilford (1,046).

News and notes

After starting the year 0-6, the Waterford girls have gone 3-4 in their last seven, including a 59-50 win over Ledyard earlier this week. Ledyard had defeated New London a week earlier. The Whalers are the highest ranked ECC school in the latest GameTimeCT media poll. Waterford’s Lucy Walker posted double-doubles for the Lancers in the wins over East Lyme and Ledyard. … New London’s Devan Williams scored 31 points on two different occasions last week as the Whaler boys defeated Bacon Academy (94-40) and won at Fairfield Prep (58-43). Williams won the Connecticut Sun/ECC Player of the Week among the boys while Ledyard’s Maggie Dykes earned the honor in girls’ basketball, after scoring 25 in a win over New London.

Some curious voting in the state boys’ media poll. Ridgefield sits fourth, three spots in front of St. Bernard. Yet the Saints (10-2) defeated Ridgefield 67-55 on Dec. 27. Elsewhere in the boys’ poll, New London is 13th and Fitch 22nd. … The top three schools in the girls’ top 10 poll are schools of choice (Sacred Heart Academy, Holy Cross and St. Joseph). … GameDay goes to Groton on Friday for St. Bernard and Fitch and will be in Colchester on Thursday, Feb. 1 for the Fitch girls at Bacon Academy.

Around the state

Toughest week for any team in Connecticut: The Northwest Catholic boys, who squandered a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter against Windsor and followed that by losing to crosstown rival Conard 62-61. … Norwalk senior Jaylen Brown, all 5-foot-9 of him, had a 50-point game last week. … The Fitch girls went on the road Wednesday to play the state’s No. 1 team, Sacred Heart Academy. The Falcons also played Hamden when the Green Dragons were No. 1 earlier this season.

m.dimauro@theday.com