Old Lyme – Old Lyme is riding a hot streak at a perfect time.

Thanks to a late season joy ride, the Wildcats are heading to the CIAC Division V boys’ basketball semifinals.

They beat No. 6 Somers, 52-47, on Monday before a packed home gym for their eighth straight win.

Senior Jack Porter dribbled out the clock then chest-bumped teammate Colman Curtiss-Reardon. The Wildcats ran over to their student section to celebrate.

No. 3 Old Lyme (18-6) will play in the semis at 7 p.m. on Wednesday against No. 15 Litchfield, a 70-63 winner over No. 7 Aerospace. The site has yet to be determined.

“The kids are stepping up at the right time of the year,” first-year head coach Brady Sheffield said. “They’re playing great. That's all them. They work so hard every day at practice. They pay attention to detail and the little things that we’re trying to do. And they go out there and execute.”

“I can rest assured every night that the next day on game day we’re giving our maximum effort.”

Old Lyme relied on a balanced attack. Senior Charles Sahadi led the way with 13 points, senior Leland Hine scored 12 and Curtiss-Reardon and senior Elias Sahadi each had nine.

The Wildcats are just where they thought they’d be.

“We expected to get this far,” Charles Sahadi said. “We put in too much work in the off-season not to get this far. And it’s everything that we worked for.”

Old Lyme seized the lead for good about halfway through the second quarter, taking a 30-24 lead into halftime. Its advantage grew to as many as nine in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats had to hold off several challenges down the stretch.

Under pressure, they answered with big plays.

“They’re resilient, and they fight through adversity at all times,” Sheffield said. “That’s something that we’ve been preaching since we started our conditioning in the off-season.”

Up 45-44, Elias Sahadi drove the lane for a basket.

Then, after Old Lyme’s defense forced a turnover, Charles Sahadi found himself open from 3-point range and calmly buried it for a 50-44 edge with two minutes, 25 seconds left.

“I practiced that shot, I’m ready for that shot, and I like that moment,” Sahadi said. “I’m one of the guys when the clock is winding down, that’s the type of shot that I want to take. I want to thank my teammate Eddie Fiske for passing me the ball and trusting me.”

The Wildcats closed it out from there.

Now they’ll start preparing for the semifinals, a destination that Sheffield reached during his playing days at Old Lyme and as an assistant last season.

“They’re a great group of kids, led by five seniors that are just unbelievable,” Sheffield said. “Hopefully, we can just keep it going.”

g.keefe@theday.com