Thursday February 27th, the Western Colonials Men’s basketball team beat the Umass Boston Deacons, advancing to the Little East Conference finals. It has been 15 years since WCSU won the Little East Championship, and 2020 looks very promising for the young team. 

Within the opening minutes of the game, WCSU went on a 6-0 run, putting the Deacons on their heels instantly. Relentless full court pressure and lights out defense from the Colonials made it excruciatingly difficult for the Deacons to keep pace. The thrilling, fast paced first half featured 6 lead changes, an 11-0 run for the Colonials led by senior forward Fenton Bradley, and a plethora of turnovers for Umass Boston. Bradley led the team in scoring with 21 points for the evening and WCSU pulled away at the end of the exciting first half, with a commanding lead; 45-28. 

Before the second half got underway, WCSU Dance Team and Cheerleaders both awed the crowd with their routines. But that wasn’t all; a WCSU student sank a half court shot to win a free dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Danbury. Bursting into excitement and hysteria, the WCSU crowd set the tone for the second half.

Ignited by the crowd, the Colonials took over the game with a commanding presence on the court. Sophomore guard Amod Privott (10 points) threw down a left-handed slam-dunk, as the Colonials kept forcing the Deacons to turn the ball over. With that being said, Umass Boston made the game interesting as they closed the 17-point lead by going on an 8-0 run with 13 minutes left. 

The Deacons’ comeback came to an abrupt stop when all five Colonial starters took the court with eight minutes left in the game. A collective team effort by WCSU combined with accurate shooting and ferocious defense, proved to be too much for Umass. As the final buzzer rang, The Colonials advanced to the Conference finals. 

WCSU will be competing for a conference championship Saturday, February 29th, as they try to accomplish a feat that hasn’t been done in almost 2 decades. “It’s surreal”, explained Junior guard Shea Tracy in a post game interview, “I haven’t played in a championship game since high school, and it feels good to have that feeling back!” they may be young, but the Colonials are armed with experienced starters that play at a professional pace. The stage is set for Leap Day, February 29th, at 2:00 pm in Feldman Arena. The Colonials will have home court advantage as they look to bring home another Conference title.