Just a few years ago, the celebration that ensued after the Milan High School boys’ basketball team’s 53-50 win over Chelsea in a Class B district finals was almost unthinkable.

While the school’s football, baseball and other programs found success, the basketball squad continuously floundered.

“I knew there were athletes here,” first-year coach Josh Tropea said. “We just had to get them excited about basketball.”

Well, the team’s first district title since 1995 will certainly turn some heads.

The contingent of Milan students who traveled across the county to cheer on their team in Chelsea’s home gym definitely got excited about the team’s turnaround.

Tropea is quick to give all the credit for the unexpected championship to his players, but there’s no question that he has breathed life into the program.

His motivational tactics have energized his young team — there are just four seniors on the roster. At the practice before the Chelsea game, he held the 1995 trophy just to show his team what they were shooting for.

“I was very familiar with how long it’s been since the last time we won,” he said with a smile. “I was holding the trophy the whole time we practiced. You gotta envision your goal.”

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Sophomore Andre Duffin carried the team with 30 points. He hit three 3-pointers and had 16 points in the first half, which helped keep Milan’s deficit manageable until its fourth-quarter comeback.

Duffin was almost a celebrity after the game, posing for pictures with family members and Milan fans and getting pulled this way and that to hear congratulations and receive claps on the back.

Even he can’t believe the progression he’s made this year.

“I was so young, coming into this year,” Duffin said after the game. “But the team saw how hard I was working out there (today), and they all knew that had to step up, too.”

And Tropea is particularly fond of Duffin.

“He’s the one of the best sophomores in the state,” he said. “We’ve played some really good teams who know he’s getting the ball, and it just doesn’t matter. And we know that he can score, but tonight I was really proud of how he played on the other end. He really brought his A-game today.”

Still, Chelsea coach Robin Raymond thought his team could have — or maybe should have — played better.

When asked about the difficulty of shutting down a player like Duffin, Raymond said, “ It shouldn’t matter. If we played sound defense, we could have slowed him down. We just weren’t aggressive enough tonight.”

After Chelsea junior Brian Paulsen’s halfcourt prayer fell well short of the hoop, a few eager Milan fans tried to rush the court to celebrate with the team, which had collected at midcourt, jumping up and down on the Chelsea bulldog.

They were held back by Chelsea staff, but after the awards ceremony, the team came over to thank the fans.

Chelsea, a strong program under Raymond, held a comfortable lead for most of the game. The Bulldogs’ complex offense was too strong for Milan to change up its defensive strategy, so Tropea wanted to stick with his gameplan — play a stout zone defense and switch to a fullcourt press with four minutes left.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but we never let the lead get bigger than nine points,” Tropea said. “I kept telling them, ‘This is only a three-possession game!’ and they never panicked. They just kept playing.”

And, when Chelsea gave up a few costly turnovers in the final minutes, it was clear that the strategy had worked.

“Chelsea is a great, well-coached team, but I think we did what we’re best at better than they did what they’re best at tonight,” Tropea said.

Raymond, clearly upset after the game, said his team was just not aggressive enough down the stretch to win.

With the win, Milan will play No. 10 Lansing Sexton in a regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Brooklyn Columbia Central.