By Michael Letendre
The CCC, Region B scholastic basketball squads have shifted from a Tuesday-Friday schedule and will now play its games in March with a Monday-Thursday format to begin the second half of the winter campaign.
Will that matter to the boys at Bristol Central or the girls program at Bristol Eastern?
Not in the least and both those teams are division leaders while the girls at Central and boys at Eastern are looking to improve and finish the second half of the season strongly.
Here’s a quick preview of scholastic hoops from both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern for Monday, March 1:
Boys Basketball
Bristol Central (2-0) at Farmington (4-2)
Time – 6:45 p.m.
Location – Farmington high school
Donovan Clingan is averaging 28.0 points-per-game this year and it seems like a stretch that he won’t, at the very least, duplicate that number against Farmington.
How does Farmington center Nick Duncan and company slow down the 7-footer from Bristol?
Double and triple teams won’t work if Central’s players around Clingan start dropping in long-range bombs.
Damion Glasper and Sean Wininger each average 9.2 points-per-game this year and compliment their big man very well.
Carson Rivoira (6.5 ppg) is capable of a double-figure scoring night while Eli Rodriguez (3.2 ppg) dropped 17 points on New Britain last week and could duplicate that feat depending on coverage.
Victor Rosa (3.5 ppg) is also troublesome on both sides of the ball. He’ll give those good ball handling guards fits at Farmington.
And depending on need and availability, D’Ante Ross, Piotr Nizielski and Tre Jones will contribute as well.
The Farmington boys basketball team still has pieces of the 2018-19 Class L champs around it like Jacob Smith, who tallied 18 points in the opening season loss to Bristol Eastern.
However, the squad will face challenges from the onset against the Rams.
Saying that this game is going to be a tall order for Farmington is the understatement of the year.
Next Game: The Rams travel to Southington this Thursday for a 6:45 p.m. tipoff against the Knights.
Bristol Eastern (2-4) at Avon (4-2)
Time – 6:45 p.m.
Location – Avon high school (Large gym)
The program at Avon is extremely strong and made a huge run against Central to open the season before eventually falling by two, 78-76, on February 10.
Since that game, the program at Avon is 4-1 and has beaten opponents by an average of 7.3 points-per-game.
There’s a ton of parity in Region B this year as Southington knocked off the Falcons as well (42-38) back on February 23.
Don’t forget, the Lancers beat the Knights by ten on February 20 so anything can happen in CCC Region B play.
But Avon boasts Jack Hall, a masterful scorer that needs precious little time and space to get his shot off and he’ll throw in buckets from all over the court.
That’s the first challenge for Eastern off the bat while the program at Avon has a nice crew surrounding the scorer that can also produce.
Against New Britain, Eastern’s Elijah Parent flipped in a season-high 20 points to go along with seven assists as the dual-threat guard can heat up quickly.
Josh Kolano (11 points, six rebounds at New Britain) has been a rock for Eastern at forward while Trini Otero (7 points, three rebounds) is tricky to match-up with.
Nasir Walker-Jenkins (four steals) could cause a match-up problem for Avon in the back-court as well with his quick hands.
Dylan Woodsome provides competent play, Jack Stavens produces long range shooting, Tyler Donohue gives up very little up front while Axel Fernandez and Trevor Nohilly give energy off the pine.
This will be a stern test for Eastern and its crew in Avon tonight.
Next Game: Thursday at home against Plainville (1-5) at 6:45 p.m. from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
Girls Basketball
Farmington (4-2) at Bristol Central (1-5)
Time – 5:30 p.m.
Location – Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at Bristol Central
Farmington’s Emma Novajasky recently tallied her 1,000th point and is a nightmare to handle on the hardwood.
And off its 45-40 loss to Southington last week, the Farmington squad is probably eager to get back into the win column against the Rams.
Farmington had won four straight games before that loss to the Knights.
Central will have to be wary of the long range exploits of Sarah Bertolette while there’s a little offensive punch up and down that Farmington line-up.
The Rams were looking to enter the contest versus Farmington on a two-game winning streak but came up short against Plainville (55-33) on Saturday afternoon to fall to 1-5.
Emma Watson (10 points against Plainville) is a capable scorer as is Janessa Bartell.
Gwen Torreso can put the ball in the hoop and so can sister Sophia.
Brooke Watson and Arianna Rivera are coming along nicely as the Rams just need some consistency for this crew to be successful.
This is another tough one for Central.
Next Game: Thursday at home against Southington (5-1) in a 5:30 p.m. tilt.
Avon (2-4) at Bristol Eastern (5-1)
Time – 5:30 p.m.
Location – Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium at Bristol Eastern
How do you slow down a junior guard/forward/everything basketball player who is averaging 24.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 steals-per-game?
Ciara Collins is having one heck of a season and so are the Lancers at 5-1 who are looking to complete its three-game home-stand with one final victory.
As a team, the Lancers are shooting the ball at about 45-percent overall, hitting 35-percent from 3 and nail about 75-percent from the free throw line.
That shooting is legit and Avon is going to have its hands full when Eastern starts in on its full court pressing and trapping defenses.
The Lancers love transition and expect more than a couple early lay-ups and, in turn, a quick lead for the home team.
Cali Doyon and Alyssa Kehler each contribute 8.5 points-per-game and center Sage Scarritt (8.0 points, 8.0 rebounds-per-game) has been excellent in the middle while the returning Janessa Gonzalez (5.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has recently been inserted into the starting line-up, producing for the Lancers.
Taigan Parent, Emma Stavens, and Audrey Tice will all chip in to help the Lancers in this bout against Avon.
Scoring has been an issue for the Falcons as the squad, since beating New Britain (38-31) back on February 16, has posted just 76 points offensively over their past three games (25.3 points-per-game, just a tick above what Collins is averaging a game).
This is going to be quite a chore for the Falcons in Bristol.
Next Game: On the road against Plainville from the Ivan Wood Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m.
