It's fitting that the Milford boys basketball team are the defending Tri-Valley Champions. After all, defense has been the staple of this year's 17-1 team, which has held opponents to just 45.6 points-a-game on the way to their seventh straight T-V Championship appearance this Saturday at 7 p.m. against Gilbertsville-Mt.Upton at Oneonta State.

The game will be a rematch of last year's title game, which the Wildcats won 45-44, giving them their fourth title in five years. Taking the title away from Milford will be a tough task for the Raiders, who lost to the Wildcats, 63-54, on Feb. 8 in the teams' only meeting this season, though that was one of just three losses against 15 wins for G-MU.

"G-MU is a very good team, and they are going to be fired up," Milford head coach Bill Crowley, in his 16th and final season, said. "They beat us by 18 during the regular season last year, then we squeaked out the championship game. We can't have any lapses."

Besides the two best teams in the Tri-Valley, Saturday's title game will also match the two best players in Milford's Patrick Kelly and the Raiders' Gavin Backus. Kelly averaged 20.8 points and 13.2 rebounds-a-game this season, while Backus was one of the leading scorers in the area with better than 25 points a game.

While Kelly and Backus are sure to get their points, Saturday's game may be decided by the supporting casts. In the team's first meeting, Milford's Hamza Sinanaj, Joe Ward and Andy Work all made significant contributions, while guards Ben Cotter and Ryan Campbell continually disrupted the Raiders offense.

Cotter also had a great game in Tuesday's regular season finale against Schenectady-Christian, a 59-51 victory which avenged the Wildcats only loss of the season. The junior guard had 12 points six assists and six steals, and made key free throws in the final minutes to seal the win. Kelly led the way with 25 points, while Sinanaj added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"G-MU makes between 10 and 11 three-point shots a game, so we have to try and shut down their shooters," Crowley said. "They have three other guys beside Backus that can really shoot the ball well."

Backus scored 26 of his team's 54 points in the first meeting, but will probably need help from some teammates if G-MU is to record the upset. Senior Adam Birdsall and junior Gordon Hall both averaged close to double figures during the regular season for G-MU, which lost two of its final three games, including Tuesday at Worcester.

In the first meeting, Milford had six players score eight or more points, and Crowley said he would like that kind of balance again Saturday. Senior forward Sinanaj averages 10.1 points and 8.5 rebounds-a-game, Cotter 6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3 steals, Campbell 6.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 steals, and Andy Work 6.4 points and 5.5 rebounds. In addition, sophomore Joe Ward has come off the bench to contribute 5.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.