Connecticut Post (Sunday)

Close- knit WestConn celebrates Little East crown

- JEFF JACOBS

— As postgame celebratio­ns go, it wasn’t the wildest. The comfortabl­e lead that Western Connecticu­t would extend to a 13- point victory over UMassDartm­outh for its first Little East Conference championsh­ip in 15 years had something to do with it, of course.

Still, the celebratio­n at Feldman Arena was loud, the hugs were extraordin­arily tight and, in some cases, the tears were hard to stop. There was a moment with 15 seconds left in the 88- 75 triumph when Fenton Bradley Jr., Shea Tracy and Legend Johnson engaged in an extended, three- way hug that ended with shouts of joy.

Later, as the net was being cut down, there was Guy Rancourt, embraced with Ryan Alkins, whispering into his freshman’s ear, consoling him, counseling him.

“We are a close team,” said Rancourt, who returned to his alma mater to coach the Colonials in June 2018. “We are very close.”

Rancourt’s team runs and runs and runs, offensivel­y with pace, defensivel­y with tenacity. Perspirati­on is at a maximum. His substituti­on patterns run like hockey shifts, a mass of bodies off, a mass of bodies on. No one averages more than 25 minutes a game.

“Our guys play so hard, I just don’t think we can play for 40 full minutes at the pace we want to play at,” Rancourt said. “We have so much talent that we want to take advantage of all of it. We want to make sure our whole team is all engaged, part of the success and they are fresher longer.”

On a day like this when no fewer than 10 players played at least 15 minutes the fruits of such a style was evident on more than the scoreboard. When you win your first LEC title since 2005 in your first finals since 2010 and return to the NCAAs for the first time since 2012 ( an at- large bid), the joy is made all the greater in the knowl

edge so many had contribute­d.

“Absolutely,” said Rancourt, the net the team cut down still around his neck. “You talk about emotions of a team. We have young men who have overcome this year.”

Alkins, from Queens, lost his mother to cancer.

“He has been dealing with this,” Rancourt said. “Trying to accept it, knowing his mother is still here for him.”

Freshman Rashid Woods, from Brooklyn, then lost his father about a month and a half ago.

“Unfortunat­ely, Rashid had to go through the same thing,” Rancourt said. “For them to be able to enjoy a day like this, to have so much success, to know they are loved, is such a big thing to me. Not often have I been with a team that lost a parent during a season and never two.

“The text messages, the phone calls, making sure guys weren’t alone. We want to be together. Our mob mentality works. We care about each other.”

After playing at Archbishop Molloy High in Queens on the same team as Kenny Anderson, Rancourt went on to play at Western Connecticu­t. He graduated in 1997 and began the long, circuitous road of a coach’s life. First, at New Haven as an assistant coach. He was head coach at John Jay. It was on to Division I, three years as an assistant under Steve Pikiell at Stony Brook and two as director of operations at Florida State under Leonard Hamilton.

“Guy is a really good coach,” said Fairfield coach Jay Young, who worked with Rancourt at Stony Brook. “And a really good guy.”

Rancourt went on to coach at Lycoming for a decade, taking the school to three Division III NCAA Tournament appearance­s. And now he has a fourth, emerging atop a league dominated the past dozen years by Eastern Connecticu­t, Keene State and Rhode Island College.

“I learned so much from those coaches and experience­s, but I never forgot how much I love WestConn,” Rancourt said. “Coming back here means everything to me. Bob Campbell was such a successful coach ( 12 NCAA appearance­s, five Little East championsh­ips, 589 wins over 32 years before retiring in 2016) and rose this program so high I’m happy just to be mentioned in the same breathe as him.”

On this day, the Colonials would go out to leads to 16- 0 and 22- 4. They’re also a young team with only two seniors. UMass- Dartmouth clawed back and took a one- point halftime lead. The Colonials’ pace and athleticis­m eventually was too much for the Corsairs.

“We came out with so much energy,” Bradley said. “but they’re a great team.”

“They started rebounding a lot harder than us and we weren’t playing defense like we should, allowing easy layups and putbacks, Tracy said. “But we stuck together as a team. This is amazing. I haven’t had any kind of championsh­ip since high school and neither has Fenton.”

Tracy led Western with 18 points, including a spectacula­r reverse layup in the second half that even the rail- thin redhead out of Terryville High couldn’t quite explain. The 6- 7 Bradley, out of E. O. Smith High in Mansfield, had 17 points, 10 rebounds and was named the tournament’s outstandin­g player.

“My first year here we came in last place,” Bradley, a senior, said. “My last year we came in first. It shows great things can happen with hard work.”

“Off the court, Fenton is an amazing person,” Rancourt said. “He’s always the first one giving my own kids high fives. They love seeing Fenton. Obviously, his dunks are terrific, but he’s a wonderful young man. He’s grounded, works his tail off, leads by example, good student, will graduate on time, a home run all- around.”

Last year under a new coach, Tracy said, it was a big transition for the team.

“Me and Fenton as captains, we were in the system for a year and that helped us with all the freshmen ( 10 listed) this year with pointers and knowing the offense.” Bradley nodded his head in agreement.

“I love coach Rancourt, I love his system,” he said. “He’s obviously a great coach. He holds us to high standards. Honestly, I like ( the mass substituti­ons). My legs stay fresh. In for five minutes, the other team comes in, they wear the other team down and I come in with fresh legs.”

And a large, fresh tattoo of a tiger and stars on his upper arm and chest.

“Just got all this in September,” Bradley said. “My mom has a tattoo of me in stars.”

It’s all in the family. Something Fenton Bradley Jr. has learned plenty about with his team at Western Connecticu­t.

“This day means so much to me,” he said. “Yeah,” Tracy said. “I think coach is happy to be home.”

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