Through low expectations and personal adversity, Sacred Heart enters MAAC tournament looking to make history

Anthony Latina has coached Sacred Heart into MAAC tournament amid low expectations from coaches and personal adversity. Pioneers open postseason Tuesday against Fairfield. (Photo by Sacred Heart Athletics)

In one sense, Sacred Heart was not supposed to be here.

The Pioneers, newcomers to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after spending their entire Division I existence in the Northeast Conference, were lightly regarded at the start of the season. Picked last of 13 teams in the preseason poll despite returning a wealth of experience and pairing it with a combination of high-impact freshmen and transfers, Sacred Heart was still a blip on most radar screens in October.

Five months and a .500 record in conference play later, Connecticut’s newest MAAC member begins its latest postseason foray under a new backdrop, but with familiar opposition and renewed promise as the Pioneers converge upon Atlantic City this week. Sacred Heart opens the MAAC tournament Tuesday against in-state rival Fairfield, against whom it won both regular season meetings during the year after having never previously defeated the Stags. Should the Pioneers advance into Wednesday’s quarterfinals, another recognizable foe awaits in fellow NEC expatriate Merrimack, who secured the No. 2 seed at Boardwalk Hall.

“I’m proud of them,” head coach Anthony Latina said of his team. “I’m proud of our program because obviously, the expectation was very low, not for us internally but amongst our peers. So for us to be able to outperform expectation certainly is encouraging, but we want to finish in the top half of the league and we want to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Led by senior wing and second team all-MAAC selection Tanner Thomas, along with Division II transfer Amiri Stewart and veteran Anquan Hill—a third team all-MAAC honoree who recently returned to the rotation after a back injury compromised his recent availability—Sacred Heart has the veteran core necessary to make a run to what would be the Pioneers’ first NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. Freshman guards Mekhi Conner and Nyle Ralph-Beyer—the former an adept passer whose court vision is almost unmatched at his tender age, the latter a lethal shooter when left unguarded—have commingled with the upperclassmen to not only form the second-best offense in the MAAC, but also give Latina more than just a glimmer of hope in both the short and long terms.

“We think we recruited pretty good players, and we’ve certainly swung away at the best in this league,” he remarked. “We’re going in guns blazing, if for no other reason, to prepare ourselves for what we’re going to see in Atlantic City, which is an intensity level that is a much higher level than anything we’ve seen so far.”

One constant in the Pioneer program this season has been a response when knocked to the canvas. And for Latina, now in his 12th season at the helm since replacing his former boss and program legend Dave Bike, the adversity hit close to home, albeit off the court. In August, Latina’s father passed away at the age of 91. Three months later, the coach lost his mother in November. Latina missed Sacred Heart’s game against New Hampshire the day his mother died, but his team rallied around him, earning an 80-63 win over the Wildcats. Five days later, the Pioneers’ win over Central Connecticut in their first home game since the tragedy was just another reminder of how Latina was embraced by a community he has loved just the same, and something that—along with the emergence of his team as a contender—helped get him through the loss.

“Certainly the first semester was a very difficult time personally for me and my family,” Latina reflected. “And for these guys to keep fighting for us and supporting us, that’s what good people do and I think we have a lot of good people. I’m very grateful for the group we have and just a tremendous university and athletic department. Their support has been—to say it’s unwavering and unconditional—it’s been incredible, so I’m so grateful.”

As Latina and the Pioneers have fought, they now ride into their biggest battle of the season. The beauty of the MAAC tournament in most years is its unpredictability. It is commonplace for a lower seed to post an upset or two and drive a wrench into many a bracket. With the recent performance of his group as an indicator—Sacred Heart finished the year 8-5 after a 6-12 start—Latina likes what he has seen, but like most coaches do, knows his group is capable of more.

“We have a lot to play for,” he said. “The postmortem hasn’t been written yet for this group. This group can make a serious run. We still have a lot more to prove. We’re pleased, but not satisfied.”