Masked Conner dishes 12 assists for Sacred Heart in MAAC Tourney win

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Mekhi Conner may not be Sacred Heart’s top scorer, best player, or even most impactful player, but no player is more of a bellwether of the Pioneers’ success from game to game than the sophomore point guard.

During SHU’s five-game winning streak in January, he averaged double-digit assists. Since then, he was averaging less than half of that number. His February was interrupted by a broken jaw, but he showed up in Atlantic City. Conner dished out 12 assists, including a barrage in the middle of the second half to catapult Sacred Heart to a 91-80 win over Iona in the first round of the MAAC Tournament.

For Anthony Latina, it was one of the gutsiest performances he’s seen.

Conner was told he’d be out for two months when he suffered the injury in February, but he had to find any way to get on the court. He didn’t want to miss anything.

“First thing he says to me is ‘Coach, I’m not missing two months,” Latina said. “So we get him in this Bane-looking mask, which is impossible to play with, and he came back right away.”

After missing just two games, Conner returned for the Pioneers’ rivalry matchup with Fairfield on February 20, but he struggled to the tune of a 63 offensive rating as SHU fell 78-68.

He continued to struggle in the games against Marist and Mount St. Mary’s, even as the Pioneers took down the Mount last Friday at home. But on Thursday, he seemed just fine, despite the mask’s best efforts.

“I’m still trying to get used to (the mask),” Conner told Mid-Major Madness after the game. “Sometimes I shoot, and I’m like ‘Dawg something just touched me,’ So it’s a little frustrating, but I pushed through.”

Thursday was the start of the reason why Conner decided that he couldn’t afford to miss any time.

“It’s very important,” he said. “I know how much my teammates love having me out there. I also thank my teammates for being there for me and helping me along and telling me that it was alright if I had a couple bad games just getting back out there.”

Conner turned it over four times, but none after giving CJ Anthony a run-out layup to tie the game at 40 early in the second half. It forced a Sacred Heart timeout, and the game completely flipped.

What was once a slow drag – similar to last Friday’s start against Mount St. Mary’s – turned into an all-out track meet. Sacred Heart scored 57 points in the second half, scoring essentially every trip down the floor for the next eight minutes.

Even as Conner sat for the next few minutes to settle himself down, he came out with a fire, assisting on four straight buckets as he entered the game, and creating a driving layup.

Latina stresses the turnovers as the key to Sacred Heart’s success.

“I think with nine or less turnovers, we’re 11-1,” Latina said. “That’s our formula. Don’t turn the ball over, be at least competent defensively, which we are getting there.”

It helps in that spot to have a backcourt that has been in this position. A year ago, Conner and Nyle Ralph-Beyer, who was the leading scorer with 26 points, were just freshmen. Now, they’re sophomores, but they’ve played enough to be even more veteran than that.

“Experience is a tough thing to replace,” Latina told Mid-Major Madness. “They have it now. This is going to be their fourth conference tournament game at Boardwalk Hall, and we’re thrilled that they’re here.”

He went on to call Ralph-Beyer the best shot-maker he’s ever coached.

“Even as freshmen, I was like I’d go out there with him against anybody,” Conner said of Ralph Beyer. “(But) 100% (there’s been another level of growth). I don’t even have to say anything to him. Even with the mask on, I could just look at him, and he knows what I’m thinking.”

To be a mid-major program that returns one key freshman player for a sophomore campaign is impressive in this landscape of college basketball.

To return two is essentially unheard of. And then for one of them to fight through an injury throughout the stretch run of the next season?

For Latina, that’s simply special.

“(Around college basketball) guys with a lot less than what he has are shutting it down,” he said. “My respect level for him and his toughness and his commitment to Sacred Heart, I’ll never forget that. I’ll appreciate that forever.”

As for the rest of the MAAC Tournament, Sacred Heart will take on Merrimack on Friday night in a rematch of the game where the Pios’ season ended last year. Protecting the ball will be paramount, as the Warriors force more turnovers than anybody else in the MAAC.

But Anquan Hill told me in June that he thought that Sacred Heart had the best roster in the league – by far. So the Pios aren’t surprised to be here.

“If we’d been healthy all year, I think we would’ve been playing on Saturday,” Latina said. “But that’s not what happened. The beauty of college basketball is that we get a mulligan. We get a second chance. We took advantage of that today.”

“That’s our story, and hopefully we can be the story in the MAAC this year.”