LEDYARD - Pete Vincent coached with a heavy heart Thursday.
The Ledyard High girls’ basketball coach learned his father, Harold, passed away overnight. Vincent was awoken at 3 a.m., made phone calls to family members around the country and missed school, getting to Standish Gym about an hour before the Colonels’ game with Bacon Academy.
Harold Vincent, a New London police officer and detective during his professional career, lived a full life of 99 years. His wife of 63 years, Patricia, predeceased him in 2004.
“My father made it to all the games I played in as a kid at New London High and UConn,” Vincent said. “He didn’t miss one. My players now didn’t get a chance to know him, but if they did, they would like him very much.”
Coaching his team against a quality team and legendary coach such as Bacon’s Dave Shea was a welcome diversion for Vincent. The Colonels talked about dedicating the game to their coach.
“We really wanted to win this for coach because he had a really tough day,” Ledyard senior guard Sarah Serbascewicz said.
Ledyard’s shooting accuracy, however, was not jibing with the dedication script. Luckily, Bacon’s shots were also off the mark as neither team was able to forge a sizable lead. The game was tied at 20 at halftime and remained a two-point game or tighter until the final minute.
Bacon’s Taylor Rochette canned a 3-pointer to give the Bobcats at 35-34 lead with 1:17 left to play. Then, as if a divine blessing cured the Colonels’ shooting woes, Ledyard went on a 9-0 run to end the game and prevail with a 43-35 victory.
Sophomore Jade Langworthy started the run with a 3-pointer to give Ledyard a 37-35 lead with 51 seconds left. She had made one basket before that.
Ledyard missed all five of its free throw attempts in the first three quarters, but Serbascewicz was 6-for-7 in the fourth. The miss was a fortuitous one as the 5-2 senior snuck in between two Bacon players in the lane, retrieved the ball on the floor and converted a layup with 30 seconds left for a 39-35 lead.
Serbascewicz led the Colonels with 24 points. She is off to a fast start for 2-1 Ledyard, scoring over 20 a game. She is one of two seniors, along with fellow returning starter Julia Lavin, on a thin and young team.
Vincent is banking on no injuries for his starting five to carry the Colonels back into the state tournament.
“We’ve beaten two quality teams, Stonington and Bacon, with five players logging 32 minutes each,” Vincent said. “It’s hard to do that day in and day out, but the girls played extra hard. When Bacon took a lead in the fourth, such a young team like ours could have easily packed it in and said it’s not our night.”
But the Colonels were playing for more than just another victory.