Exorcising ghosts of East Hartford
EAST HARTFORD – Kyle Hinckley remembers the shot. It was at the buzzer in the East Hartford High gym in the Division V semifinals last year.
It was Travis Mangual of Windham who hit the 3-pointer against Windsor Locks. Hinckley, then a Windsor Locks sophomore, watched the ball go through the net before sadly leaving the court.
So when the Windsor Locks boys basketball team found out it was heading back to East Hartford High for the Division V semifinal once again, on Wednesday, the Raiders weren’t super excited, to say the least.
But the return to the court where they lost also gave them a chance to vanquish the ghosts of last season. And the Raiders did just that, beating Portland 67-56 Wednesday night in the Division V semifinal game in front of a packed house at East Hartford High.
“Before the game, I didn’t really want to come here,” said Hinckley, who went 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter Wednesday. “Because last time I was right there and saw the shot and he made it. It was heartbreaking.
“To come here and rewrite the story, it was great. Now we’re going to Mohegan. I don’t know what to say.”
Top-seeded Windsor Locks will face No. 6 Shepaug Valley in the Division V final either Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun.
It’s the first time the Raiders have been to the championship game since 2001, the year after their coach Dan Copes graduated.
“I missed it by a year,” Copes said.
And then again last year. Windsor Locks was up, 50-47 with 52 seconds left in the game against Windham. But Mangual converted a three-point play to tie the score and Windham’s defense forced a turnover and the ball was once again in Mangual’s hands as the clock ticked down. His 3-pointer gave Windham the
53-50 win and the Whippets went on to win the state title.
“I definitely didn’t think of last night at all,” Copes said, laughing.
Senior Malike Alassani, who had 24 points to lead the Raiders, ended the game with an emphatic dunk and his teammates and the Windsor Locks students mobbed him on the baseline.
“Oh, yeah, for a fact, we felt like it was redemption this time especially with our returning seniors and our alumni here to watch us,” Alassani said. “We felt like we had to prove something.
“We just put our head down and worked.”
The game looked as if it was heading the same way as last
year’s semifinal as it was close throughout. Portland led 16-14 after the first quarter and Windsor Locks was up 32-31 at halftime. Joe Rusczyk’s 3-pointer at the buzzer cut Windsor Locks’ lead to 45-44 after three quarters.
But sophomore Sincere Monroe (18 points) hit the first two shots for the Raiders and Alassani had three baskets midway through the quarter and Windsor Locks managed to pull ahead and get some breathing room. Hinckley’s free throws in the last minute iced it.“we didn’t even talk about, really,” Copes said. “Through the season, we talked about things to keep us focused. So when came up, I said, ‘So what, let’s move forward.’ And we did. I had a lot of people say things like the place is cursed … but it was our turn to exorcise those demons. And they did it tonight.”