By Michael Letendre
The Bristol Central boys basketball team looks to remain undefeated on Tuesday as the program travels to New Britain for a huge CCC Region B tilt.
New Britain was rolling right along this season before being derailed by Farmington (47-39) last Friday which doesn’t say much because after Central, there’s a ton of parity in the league.
The Rams haven’t played in about a week because of the weather and are itching to get back on the court against the Golden Hurricanes.
With the biggest road game of the season for Central on the horizon, here’s a quick look at what to expect tonight in New Britain:
Bristol Central (3-0) at New Britain (2-2)
Time – 6:45 p.m.
Location – from the New Britain High School gymnasium
The question – How do you stop a 7-foot giant from scoring 30-plus points against your team?
Central’s Donovan Clingan is averaging 32.0 points and 14.3 rebounds-per-game this year and New Britain, like every other squad in Region B play, is not equipped to handle the junior center.
What kind of junk (or gimmick) defense can you play against the Rams to slow the big man down?
Or is it better to stop the rest Central’s cast of characters, starring the likes of Damion Glasper, Sean Wininger, and Carson Rivoira, and just let Clingan get his usual offense?
That’s the Shaquille O’Neal defensive question. And ‘hack-a-Clingan’ can backfire very quickly when the big man has his stroke at the charity stripe going.
Frankly, neither option is a good one because Glasper (12.7 points-per-game) is a streaky shooter who can heat up quickly.
He currently leads the Rams in three-pointers made with six.
Wininger has popped three 3s this season, is averaging just under nine points-a-game and extremely capable of a double-double against the Golden Hurricanes.
And it looks like Rivoira (6.3 points-per-game) is just scratching the surface when it comes to putting his complete package together on the hardwood.
He is an underrated defender and his scoring is starting to tick up this year.
Victor Rosa and D’Ante Ross are just getting their basketball legs back and if those weapons can produce, the Golden Hurricanes are in for a long night.
For New Britain, junior guard Justice Carter was averaging 14.5 points over his first two games and is a legit scoring threat.
Sophomore guard Tyrone Cummings can also put the ball in the hoop and is very athletic like the rest of the team in New Britain.
But the squad is on a two-game losing skid and Central could make it three straight at the completion of thirty-two minutes.
This has the makings of a fun game as New Britain is always a challenging place to play and compete.
But a few early slam dunks by Clingan should give the visitors an early lead that will be tough to come back from in the end.
This is the first of three games this week for the Bristol Central program.
Just in – Bristol Central is tied for sixth place in the current GameTimeCT Top 10 basketball Poll. The Rams and Ridgefield are both 3-0 and trail just East Catholic, Windsor, Northwest Catholic (all CCC teams), Notre Dame-West Haven and Sacred Heart of the Naugatuck Valley League.
Games on the horizon: Lewis Mills at Bristol Central (Friday, February 26, 6:45 p.m.); Bristol Central at Plainville (Saturday, February 27, 3 p.m.).
