WINDHAM — Being a well-rounded team led the Windham Tech Tigers boys basketball to stamp their names in the record books forever.
A vital factor in why the Windham Tech Tigers boys basketball ended the 58-year drought of a Tech School capturing a state title and its first in program history is that different players stepped up throughout the state tournament. This was exhibited at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday when Windham Tech defeated Woodland 73-62 to claim the Division State Title.
Having trust in each other is what propelled Windham Tech to knocking off the No. 1 team and spoiling their undefeated season.
The team’s unselfishness led to four players in double figures. For Windham Tech, Senior Colby Dunnack led the way with 20 points, followed by Brady Marsh with 14, and Gabe Crespo added 14. Senior Conner Bushey chipped in with 10.
With Windham Tech being willing to make the extra pass, the Tigers wrapped up the game with 16 assists on their 30 field goals made.
On paper, to start the year, it looks like Windham Tech might take a step back after losing three seniors. There was uncertainty about who would step up to replace Lorenzo Tarascio, Fischer Jones, and Kayden Carroll in the program. Tarascio was the team’s second leading scorer last year, averaging 14.6 points per game.
Meanwhile, Jones was the team’s Swiss Army Knife, able to do it all. His ball-handling allowed Dunnack and Marsh to play off the ball. He averaged 8.6 points per game, 4.9 assists per game, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Despite the team losing multiple key contributors, the players embraced their roles instead of focusing on individual stats.
Windham Tech head coach Luke Gildea praised the group for doing whatever is best for the team.
“I’m proud of them just banding together and buying into what I’ve been telling them all season,” Gildea said. “I always say before the game, we play together, and hard we’ll win. I feel like at the beginning of the season, there was a little selfishness going on because some kids were butted heads during practices and games.”
“I just kept reiterating that it’s hard to win games if you don’t like the kid next to you. I feel like those two guys who used to fight are now best friends.”
Windham @ Cheney Tech
Once Windham Tech got towards the end of the season, when games became important, he said the personal agendas went away.
When Windham Tech battled Cheney Tech, it was a gut-check game. Cheney Tech routed Windham Tech 82-62 in ther first matchup on Jan.16. This loss ended up being a blessing for Windham Tech, as it laid the blueprint for how they would win a championship.
“When we lost to Cheney, they ran a triangle and two, so Brady and Colby struggled to score,” Gildea said. “Brady was still scoring and making miraculous shots after miraculous shot, but we had Connor and Gabe just wide open, and they didn’t do much.”
“We had Conner and Gabe just wide open, and they didn’t do much, so the next time we got to get Connor and Gabe the ball. They have to be involved and score.”
Indeed, Windham Tech followed that recipe when the two clashed again. Windham Tech got revenge a month later by defeating Cheney Tech in the CTC quarterfinals 69-57 on Feb. 22.
Against their rival, it wasn’t Marsh or Dunnack who lifted the team past Cheney Tech. Instead, it was Bushey who scored a game-high 19 points. He made Cheney Tech pay the price for leaving him open.
This win gave Gildea confidence that it could actually capture a state championship.
“That was the win for me,” Gildea said
St. Paul @ Windham second round
After falling to Abbott Tech in the conference semifinals, it returned to the court for the first round of the Division IV State Tournament.
Windham Tech didn’t face much adversity in the opening round when they took care of business, defeating Amistad 72-60 on Mar. 6.
However, that wasn’t the case in the second round when it took on No. 11, the St. Paul Falcons, on Mar. 9.
There was adversity right off the bat with Marsh picking up two quick fouls in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Dunnack took over the game, scoring nine points in the first quarter to keep Windham Tech up in front.
Although Dunnack carried the team with Marsh on the bench, it just wasn’t a one-man show. Bushey and Crepso each hit a pair of three to allow Windham Tech not to lose any ground to St. Paul.
Although Marsh made only two baskets in the first half, Windham Tech held a 33-32 halftime lead thanks to the role players stepping up.
Throughout the second half, it was back and forth. Every time it looked like Windham Tech might pull away from St. Paul, the Falcons always answered.
The game was hanging in the balance with Windham Tech holding a 57-56 lead with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
On the next possession after St. Paul cut the lead to one after drilling a three, Windham Tech had an opportunity to answer. Dunnack got a pick from Marsh in the halfcourt and then passed to junior Jameson Sadloski.
While he was scoreless for the first 29 minutes, that changed in an instant. He stepped up to the plate and buried the three without hesitation, giving Windham Tech a 60-56 lead with 2:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Even though he only scored three points, it was arguably the most important basket of the entire game. That shot ultimately denied St. Paul a chance at sniffing a chance at taking the lead.
If that shot doesn’t go down, who knows what would’ve happened. Windham Tech might have suffered a second-round exit.
Ultimately, Dunnack trusted his teammate despite Sadloski having an off night rather than trying to be the hero, and he was still confident in himself, which helped Windham Tech hold on.
The dynamic senior duo of Marsh and Dunnack carried Windham Tech to a 99-90 victory over the Nonnewaug Chiefs in the quarterfinals. Each filled up the state sheet.
On Thursday, Mar 12, Marsh recorded a game-high 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Dunnack had a monster game, finishing with 24 points, 23 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
Windham Tech vs. Abbott Tech semifinals
At Newington High School on Mar. 16, it was a rematch of the CTC semifinals exactly two weeks later.
After eight minutes, things were looking great for Windham Tech as they jumped out to a 19-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
For most of the second quarter, it maintained a 7-12 lead. However, everything changed in the blink of an eye once Dunnack picked up two quick fouls that forced him to go to the bench with 2:55 left in the second quarter.
Abbott Tech flipped the script with Dunnack on the bench. Trailing 25-15 with under three minutes left in the second, Abbott Tech went on an 11-5 run to cut Windham Tech’s lead to five to trim the lead to four at halftime.
Offensively, Windham Tech went ice-cold in the third quarter. This allowed Abbott Tech to take a 34-32 lead with 1:51 to play.
Windham Tech was searching for answers on offense. They only scored four points in the last 10 minutes after going all the way back to the second quarter.
A player who calmed everything down for Windham Tech when things were going sideways was sophomore Armando Rivera.
Rivera made Abbott Tech pay the price for fouling him while shooting a three with 31.8 seconds left in the third quarter. He nailed all three free throws to put Windham Tech back up 35-34.
Once Windham Tech retook the lead, it never looked back. It remained in front for the final 10 minutes.
In the second round and quarterfinals, Rivera was quiet. He scored only two points. With a trip to the Mohegan Sun Arena on, he showed up and gave the team a spark. He was the second leading scorer for the team with 10 points, sinking all five free throws in the second half.
Since Dunnack was in foul trouble, Rivera was the player who stepped up and weathered the storm.
The other unsung hero in the game was junior Sebastian Rivera. He scored four points in the fourth quarter. Rodriguez shined on the court when his number was called for the first time all tournament.
Defensively, he helped Windham Tech hold Abbott Tech to seven points. Gildea said he put him in due to him being a good on-ball defender.
This decision ended up paying off to perfection. Gildea pushing the right buttons and understanding exactly what the team needs based on their opponent, their play helped the team get to the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Woodland Windham Division IV Finals
When they faced Woodland on Saturday, Rivera played only 4:33. Multiple players stepped up for Windham Tech to knock off Woodland.
Closing quarters are very important in basketball in determining a winner. A key sequence in the championship game happened early on.
Windham Tech was trailing 19-14 with 1:09 left in the first quarter. After an over the back foul with 54.8 seconds left, Windham was awarded possession. Gildea sent Sadloski to the scorers’ table to check back into the first quarter.
This turned out to be a great decision. Marsh passed to Sadeloski right after breaking the press. When Sadeloski got the ball, he gave the Woodland defender a jab step to create separation. This allowed him to bury a three to cut Woodland’s lead to two.
Woodland then raced up the court and took a quick three-pointer, which missed. Marsh was then fouled with 29.3 seconds left trying to get a loose ball. Since Windham Tech was in the bonus, Marsh got two free throws. He connected on both to tie it up at 19.
Woodland never led for the final three quarters. As a result, that five-point lead in the first was the largest of the game.
This sequence of her flipped momentum to Windham Tech allowed them to carry that momentum into the second part.
Although Marsh is known for his scoring, his playmaking was vital to Windham Tech claiming a state championship. Marsh setting his teammates up for success led to him finishing with a game-high eight assists.
His imprint was all over his game, even though he wasn’t scoring at the rate he usually does. The NFHS Network gave Marsh high praise during the game after he got an assist on Crespo’s turnaround jumper to go up 26-21 in the second quarter, citing that he’s impacting 90 percent of what Windham Tech was doing on offense.
Being able to impact the game in ways beyond scoring is why Marsh will be playing basketball in college. His ability to get involved in other areas, such as rebounding and creating open shots for his teammates is why his basketball career will continue after this year.
All tournament, Gildea pushed all the right buttons and was willing to make a quick adjustment if things weren’t working. When he saw that the man-to-man wasn’t working after the first quarter, he didn’t stick with it, hoping things would eventually change.
Instead, he decided to go to a 2-3 zone. This was a great decision, as it forced Woodland to take more perimeter shots. Woodland had trouble connecting from deep, finishing the game 2-15.
After guiding the team to a state championship, Gildea told The Chronicle why he made this adjustment.
“We started the game in man-to-man, and I just remembered how well it worked in practice,” Gildea said. “In practice, we were playing eight on five, and they were stopping them. They were getting back-door layups. I felt like we weren’t doing a good enough job.”
Gildea’s great coaching and his ability to push the right buttons come from his father, Mark Gildea. His father’s impact went beyond the wins and losses, as he was a father figure for many people due to his ability to develop relationships with his players and everyone in the community. It’s why he is a Willimantic legend.
Sadly, his father is no longer with us today as he passed away in 2021. He is looking down proudly at his son for carrying his legacy.
When asked what his dad would say to him if he were still here, Gildea gave his answer.
“After every game, I would always talk to my dad, and if you see me get emotional its because I’m thinking about the big guy,” Gildea said. He would tell me how proud he was. I wish he were here, and I know he was here watching the game.”
