CCC Region B boys basketball
BRISTOL CENTRAL 66, BRISTOL EASTERN 51
From the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Bristol Central (2-0) 17 16 14 19 – 66
Bristol Eastern (1-1) 14 4 17 16 – 51
BRISTOL CENTRAL (66): Damion Glasper 2 0 6, Eli Rodriguez 1 0 2, Tre Jones 1 0 2, Roberto Negron-Cruz 0 2 2, Sean Wininger 4 1 9, Carson Rivoira 3 2 8, Donovan Clingan 17 3 37, Dom Amara 0 0 0. Totals 28 8 66.
BRISTOL EASTERN (51): Nasir Walker 0 1 1, Elijah Parent 8 0 18, Josh Kolano 2 2 7, Dylan Woodsome 2 1 5, Trevor Nohilly 1 1 4, Trini Otero 2 4 9, Jack Stavens 2 0 5, Tyler Donohue 1 0 2, Axel Fernandez 0 0 0, Brayden Dauphinais 0 0 0, Nate Fries 0 0 0. Totals 18 8 51.
Three-point goals: Glasper (BC) 2, Parent (BE) 2, Kolano (BE), Woodsome (BE) Stavens (BE), Nohilly (BE), Otero (BE).
Records: Bristol Central 2-0 overall; Bristol Eastern 1-1.
By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The boys basketball game between the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern teams on Friday, February 12 was the strangest sight to see as the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium was nearly empty for the city series showdown.
But the battle between the squads proved to be a competitive one – at points – before Eastern’s offense dried up during second quarter play.
And after a stern challenge from Avon to open the season, Central followed up that effort with a 66-51 triumph over Eastern to move to 2-0 on the campaign.
Eastern fell to 1-1 over the losing effort.
Donovan Clingan had another tremendous outing, leading the Central charge with 37 points – tying his career high in the process – while adding 18 rebounds and four blocks.
“It was tough. We actually kept him down low if you noticed. We didn’t bring him up tonight,” said Central coach Tim Barrette of Clingan. “It makes it real hard to double when he’s on the block, especially the way [Eastern was] trying to play us.”
Eastern was physical against the 7-footer but the junior was simply dominant, finishing at the hoop with dunks and impossible to stop high-percentage shots.
“I credit my guys. We tried to throw a lot of different looks at [Clingan] but it doesn’t matter,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “When you can just throw it up there and you can get an easy shot, it’s make it real hard. So you have to score with him.”
And while no one else tallied double-figures in scoring for Central, there was great balance offensively to augment Clingan’s big night.
Sean Wininger flipped in nine points while Damion Glasper added two three-pointers for six but an apparent ankle injury ended his night prematurely.
Eli Rodriguez, Tre Jones, and Roberto Negron-Cruz all helped Central remain perfect in 2021.
“I give my subs a lot of credit tonight,” said Barrette. “They showed why they are a valuable asset to this team.”
And bulldog Carson Rivoira did a little of everything for his squad to stifle Eastern.
Rivoira scored a career-high eight points, dished out four assists and was a general nuisance to Eastern defensively.
He guarded Elijah Parent most of the evening in an attempt to make things difficult and was extremely physical with the excellent shooter.
“Carson Rivoira did a great job in the middle tonight,” said Barrette. “He’s a triple threat. He can score, he passes well and he flashes hard to the ball. He was our x-factor tonight.”
But Parent played well as the senior added 18 points on 8-of-17 field goal shooting to go along with four assists and a couple steals.
His offense helped his team capture an 18-17 lead with 6:52 left to play in the second period.
But the Lancers never scored again in the second and via a 16-0 run, Central was able to secure a 33-16 halftime push.
“It happened to us the other night [against Farmington] but we were able to recover, turn the ball over and make shots,” said Ray. “The difference is that Central has a run-stopper. So anytime you go to make a run, any time you try to change defenses, they can just lob it in to [Clingan] and he can get an easy two.”
Eastern was able to close the deficit to 47-35 at the end of three periods but could not creep any closer in the end.
Josh Kolano (seven points, two steals) picked two quick fouls and was regulated to bench for most of the first half which limited Eastern’s offense.
“Josh’s second foul was questionable and that really threw us because, now all of a sudden, it kind of changes what we want to do. That’s another guy they have to worry about and he sits for almost the whole first half. And the second quarter wasn’t the same…Josh is a big part of what we do.”
Trini Otero added nine points, blocked a couple shots and had a big scoring quarter in the third frame.
The senior took the ball to Clingan but his early offensive chances were just off the mark.
“Trini had some good looks,” said Ray. “They just didn’t go down. Our transition was nonexistent because every time Clingan would get a dunk, the ball was already on the other side of the court so we couldn’t even get it and run.”
Jack Stavens (five points, two rebounds), Dylan Woodsome (five points), and Trevor Nohilly added a career-high four points for the Lancers.
But Tyler Donohue was outstanding in defeat, having to match wits against Clingan and all of his 7-foot-1 frame.
Donohue came away with just two points but his 10 rebounds and three steals proved that his defense was up to task.
“I credit Ty a lot going in there and playing defense and hustling and that’s his role,” said Ray.
Axel Fernandez and Nasir Walker also contributed to the Eastern cause but a stretch of four points in eight minutes in the second and third tilts did-in the home contingent.
“We didn’t execute our offense in the second half very well,” said Ray. “We kind of got stuck. I don’t know if we got fatigued. We just weren’t running our cuts, we weren’t running good screens. It’s hard because we’re one-dimensional with [Clingan] in the game because you’re really not driving to the basket although we did get some looks toward it.”
Four ties highlighted a busy first quarter of play but halfway through the frame, a three-point play by Carson gave the Rams a 12-7 push with 4:15 remaining in the stanza.
But Parent put the Lancers on his back, scoring the next 11 points for his team, and off a slick jumper with 6:52 left to play in the first half, Eastern had its 18-17 lead in hand.
“Elijah made a lot of tough shots early, give him some credit,” said Barrette. “But at the same time, we had to take it personal. We stopped switching screens and we just started fighting over the top.”
And then Eastern couldn’t get another hoop to fall for nearly nine minutes.
“I thought Carson Rivoira defensively on Elijah after Elijah got off early, he did a great job [on Parent] in the second, third and fourth quarter,” said Barrette. “And in the middle of the zone, [Rivoira] did a phenomenal job feeding [the ball] to the big man.”
Over that scoreless stretch for Eastern, Clingan dunked and had three total hoops, Glasper canned a 3, Wininger notched three straight points, Negron-Cruz hit two free throws and when Rodriguez canned his jumper, Central led 35-18 with 6:18 to play in the third period as the ball was finding able-bodied scoring threats in Central’s high-low offensive attack.
“They want to pass the ball,” said Barrette of Central’s 19 assists. “You even saw Donovan go to Carson early on in the game. Donovan gave Carson a couple looks.”
Otero scored all nine of his points over the final 6:08 of the quarter, Kolano added a three-pointer to the mix, Parent hit a jumper but Clingan had three dunks as well, including a one-handed jam in an amazing move that started from the three-point line with Clingan taking two huge steps and finishing the slam off with his right hand as the whole hoop violently shook and Central maintained its double-figure edge.
“He’s a great player,” said Ray of Clingan. “And I credit the guys around him, too. They know how to use them, they made some cuts, they made some baskets. Obviously, Clingan is the focal point of their offense. I thought we did a good job for what we could do.”
Walker hit a free throw and Parent floated in one final third quarter shot to keep Eastern hanging around at 47-35 with eight minutes remaining.
But Clingan and Rivoira made it academic early in the fourth, combining on several baskets and one final field goal by the All-Stater with 3:55 to go made it 62-38 contest.
Eastern scored some points late, including four from Nohilly that narrowed the final deficit but Central came away with an impressive 66-51 win on the road in the end.
“We have to make some adjustments,” said Ray. “It’s the second game of the year so obviously, we’re not really crisp in what we’re doing. I’m hoping that we get a little buy-in and we start to learn how to screen a little better and move without the ball and find our shooters. There was a stretch where Elijah didn’t get the ball much and he’s got to have it a little more.”