WILTON — Joel Geriak brought his Wilton boys basketball team down the stairs from their locker room in the school’s field house Tuesday night and had them gathering equipment.

“If there is anything left out here you will run doubly hard tomorrow,” Geriak said.

This, after a 12-point win over the Warriors’ biggest rival.

That scene was as revealing as anything that happened in an impressive 51-39 win over Ridgefield, a game that was in no way as close as the score would indicate. A 14-0 run after the Tigers opened the game with a 3-point shot was the equivalent of a first-round knockout.

Wilton’s Jack Williams, who finished with 19 points, gets two on a layup. (Photo: Mark Conrad)

Wilton (7-3, 4-2 FCIAC) had a 15-point lead 11 minutes in and was up 42-18 at halftime before a raucous crowd in a scene that should have been videotaped so league officials finally bring the playoffs back to the conference’s best basketball facility.

So why was Geriak upset? Because Wilton coasted through the remainder of the game, scoring just 9 points in the second half. And he is trying to impress upon his players that great first halves will not reap any rewards if they are not followed up by the big finish.

The Warriors may indeed have the ability this year to win an FCIAC title, but not by going hard for just 18 or 20 minutes.

And Geriak knows it, which is why his players received both the olive branch and the whip after the game.

When it was suggested that Geriak again has the league’s most entertaining team because of a strict adherence to basics, he offered a caveat.

“I wouldn’t go that far because our other teams wouldn’t have scored 9 points in the second half, but the kids are fundamentally sound,” Geriak said. “They attack, they understand what they are doing. They go over a scouting report over and over again and the kids buy in, and that’s the main thing. The kids buy into the system.”

Wilton made eight 3-point shots in the first half, four of them in the first 4 1/2 minutes. Three were delivered by Jack Williams, a breakout star who finished with a game-high 19 points.

“He’s a special player,” Geriak said. “He was hidden by that phenomenal team last year. When you play behind eight seniors you are going to get hidden. He couldn’t go off the dribble like he did last year and make those incredible shots. Teams can take him away and he can still score.”

Wilton and Ridgefield players battle for a rebound during Tuesday’s game. (Photo: Mark Conrad)

Williams said the Warriors fed off a student section that filled the bleachers that run the entire baseline near the gym entrance.

“I think the energy from the crowd and what was in the building gave us the energy to win the game,” Williams said.

Then there was an active defense that is rooted in changing schemes and committing to one of the less glamorous aspects of the sport. It helps that Geriak scouts opponents as well as anyone in the league.

“We played hard, we got in the passing lanes all night, we made it hard for their shooters to get open looks,” Geriak said. “They may have made some shots here or there, but they had a hand in their face every time and that was the gameplan.”

Chris Longo, the Tigers’ top scorer, was held to just one fourth-quarter free throw, and Wilton didn’t do anything special to stop him except play hard.

“We definitely got in their head and they couldn’t get the shots that they wanted, and we contested shooters real well,” Williams said.

Matt Kronenberg added 13 points for Wilton.

Tuesday night was an example of what to expect over the second half of the season. Trinity Catholic defeated McMahon. Greenwich knocked off Trumbull, the last remaining unbeaten team in conference play. Neither should be considered a major upset.

The FCIAC title is up for grabs and the Warriors, a sentimental darling the past two seasons, is now very much in play.

Just as long as they provide Geriak with the big finish that will be needed to grab the ring.