New London — Conway Gym at New London High School: where many have entered hopeful and most have left muttering. And don't think East Lyme coach Jeff Bernardi wasn't urgently aware of that Tuesday night.

It's hard enough to win in the region's hub for high school basketball, let alone when your best player might be a bit distracted by a looming 1,000-point milestone. That's why Bernardi considered playing "I've Got A Secret" with Dev Ostrowski, his junior whiz kid.

"I had no intention of telling him," Bernardi was saying inside East Lyme's happy locker room, following an all's-well-that-ends-well 72-56 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I win, keeping the Vikings unbeaten. "But he went on MaxPreps (a high school sports website) and found out he was 22 (points) short. I'm glad it's over."

Ostrowski's 1,000th point came with 2:01 remaining on a free throw. New London officials were kind enough to stop the game for a brief ceremony.

"I'm supposed to say no," Ostrowski said, answering a question of whether the milestone was on his mind throughout the game. "But of course it was. It was distracting me the whole time. But as a team, we got it done thanks to Luke (Leonard), T.J. (Horner) and Jacob (Peters)."

But it certainly wasn't easy. The Vikings (5-0, 1-0) watched an 18-point lead late in the third period shrink to four by the middle of the fourth, during what was a choppy, foul-filled and occasionally contentious game.

East Lyme led 56-52 when Ostrowski, who was quiet in the second half, scored four straight points and later had an assist, pushing the lead to 10.

"The whole game, something was wrong with me," Ostrowski said, "but at that moment, I knew it was now or never."

Ostrowski finished with a game-high 23 points. Leonard had 21 and Horner finished with 12, most around the basket.

The Whalers, meanwhile, spent much of the night vexed. Technical fouls to the bench and a player within 30 seconds of each other in the second period helped East Lyme push its lead to 33-19.

When asked about the difference in the game, New London coach Craig Parker said, "We were outmanned. Read into that whatever you want."

Gio Lopez led the Whalers (5-2, 1-1) with 16 points. Jalen Benson had 14 and Isiah Benson scored 12. If nothing else, though, New London rallied in the fourth quarter by creating a frenzied pace that may serve the Whalers well down the road.

"We want to make it helter skelter," Parker said.

Meanwhile, East Lyme has a day to rest before playing defending Eastern Connecticut Conference champ Ledyard on Thursday night at home. The Vikings can move to 2-0 in ECC Division I in a game to be streamed live on theday.com.

"I think this game shows how we've all grown. Especially Luke (Leonard)," Ostrowski said. "I think he's one of the top kids in the state right now. There's no guard like him."

m.dimauro@theday.com