By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Bristol Central boys basketball phenom Donovan Clingan continues his aim at every school record in what is turning out to be a historic season for the program.
And on Monday night, another school record went by the wayside.
Clingan established a new Central single-game scoring record, dropping in a monstrous 47 points as the Rams foiled a game but overmatched Platt squad by a 79-48 final from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.
The 47 points eclipses the old record held by Ryan Howse. Howse dropped in 45 points against Platt back on February 22, 1994.
“It’s crazy,” said Clingan of his record setting tally. “Without my team, my coaches, this wouldn’t be happening. It means a lot, you know. It’s the reason why I stayed [at Bristol Central], to break records like this and make people proud. I don’t even know what to say right now. Forty-seven is crazy. It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my family, [and to] Coach Barrette. Just to hold the record…I don’t even know.”
“It just means a lot.”
Clingan also added 26 rebounds and three blocked shots. He now averages 27.6 points and 16.8 rebounds-per-game this season after the 47-point explosion.
Central (13-0) continues to bulldoze everything in its collective path – winning a school record 28th straight game in the process – while Platt (9-4) fell for the first time over its last six contests.
And after a thirty-point first half, Clingan kept his foot on the gas as his baseline 3-pointer with 50 seconds to go in the third quarter put him at 44 points and on the cusp of something very big.
One traditional three-point play later, via a rim rattling dunk and a free throw to open the fourth and final frame, was all it took for the record as Barrette quickly hustled Clingan out of the game to the applause of the crowd while timekeeper Dave Greenleaf made the historic announcement of the new single-game scoring record.
“I wasn’t going to leave him in there any longer, trust me” said Barrette of Clingan playing into the fourth quarter. “I was yelling at my assistant coaches [and] they were yelling at me, ‘One more, one more possession,’ and I was shaking my head. That was the last possession he was getting, no matter what. We had talked about that. He wasn’t going [to play with] under seven minutes [in the fourth period]. Obviously, if you’re that close with a [school] record at that point…somebody told us [about the record] in the third quarter because that’s when he actually got to that point. We were just trying to get one more [basket].”
The rest the squad, who had a front row seat for the record setting event, did everything it could to augment the play of Clingan.
Damion Glasper racked up 10 points, hitting two 3s along the way, while Victor Rosa’s nine was a season best by the senior.
Carson Rivoira added five points and several rebounds while Steven Alseph got the ball to all the shooters with zest.
And the Rams did a great job offensively, getting second and third chances with the ball and cashing in on offensive rebounds.
“He did a great job tonight,” said Barrette of Clingan. “I told him in the first half, we missed 18 shots at halftime and he had 11 offensive rebounds. That’s only seven possessions where you’re not getting an offensive rebound. And I think Carson had two others. We pretty much were able to convert after the first shot a ton in the first half.”
Anthony Nimani led Platt with 22 points but didn’t have much help and once Central made some defensive adjustments, all that Panthers’ offense quickly dried up as Clingan nearly outscored the entire team by himself.
“We made a couple of changes on Nimani after the first quarter,” said Central coach Tim Barrette. “Nimani’s a really good player. I told him that after the game. He made tough contested jump shots with Carson in his face with pull-ups in the first quarter. Give him some credit. In the second quarter, we changed our mentality. [There was] a little bit more denial, a little bit more double-teaming off the bounce, and it kind of took them out of the rhythm.”
“And when they missed shots, we were able to push [the lead] out in the second quarter.”
After Platt had drained 15 three-pointers against Bristol Eastern in its previous game on Friday, the Panthers were held to only six against the Rams.
Platt led 7-5 with 5:26 left to play in the first quarter but Central clamped down on defense, using a 12-3 run – capped by a three-point play from Rivoira – to make it a 17-10 contest with 2:43 left in the tilt.
A jumper by Nimani with 31 seconds to play in the first kept it a seven-point affair at 23-16 but from there, the bottom quickly fell out on the visiting aggression.
Central outscored Platt 24-3 the rest of the half as Clingan scored the final eight points of the second stanza – producing three rim-rattling dunks along the way – as the Rams nabbed a 47-19 halftime cushion.
Clingan opened the third tilt by notching nine of Central’s first 11 points as his putback with 3:29 left in the quarter gave the home squad a 58-26 edge.
Threes from Glasper and Clingan helped induce a 12-2 jaunt and with 10 seconds remaining in the third, it was a forty-point blowout at 70-30.
With the record close in hand to open the fourth, Clingan eventually tallied three additional points for his 47th and the bench came in to mop up.
Nimani hit shots late but to close out the contest, Central’s Jelani Walton added a hoop, Zack Vanesse canned a high-percentage bucket and free throws from Mason Stokes and Harry Ross sealed the deal as Central played an excellent brand of ball over the record setting 79-48 triumph.
“We didn’t turn the ball over tonight,” said Barrette. “We had three turnovers at [the] half and we had five, I believe, before the fourth quarter. Five turnovers versus Platt with their quickness and the way they turn people over normally, we were able to take care of the ball. We hit the flasher – I thought we had great ball movement. [And] we have five or six shots in the first half go in and out. We could have been up even more.”
Central is back at it on Wednesday against state power Wilbur Cross in New Haven.
BRISTOL CENTRAL BOYS BASKETBALL
BRISTOL CENTRAL 79, PLATT 48
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium
Bristol Central (13-0) 25 22 23 9 – 79
Platt (9-4) 16 3 14 15 – 48
PLATT (48): Makhai Anderson 4 0 10, Anthony Nimani 9 3 22, Juan Dancy 3 0 7, Justin Black 2 1 7, Elijah Rodriguez 1 0 2, Deante Torroes 0 0 0, Nelsen Randan 0 0 0, John Rivera 0 0 0, Josh Day 0 0 0, Kamani Johnson 0 0 0, Rayquan Bradshaw 0 0 0, Sam Quinn 0 0 0. Totals 19 4 48.
BRISTOL CENTRAL (79): Donovan Clingan 21 4 47, Mike Allan 0 0 0, Carmelo Thompson 0 0 0, Mikey McMahon 0 0 0, Steve Alseph 0 0 0, Victor Rosa 4 0 9, Mason Stokes 0 1 1, Carson Rivoira 2 1 5, Julius Powell 1 0 2, Damian Glasper 4 0 10, Jelani Walton 1 0 2, Zach Vanesse 1 0 2, Harry Ross 0 1 1, Aaron Brown 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeven 0 0 0, Jonmanuel Gomez 0 0 0. Totals 34 7 79.
Three-point goals: Anderson (P) 2, Black (P) 2, Dancy (P), Nimani (P),
Glasper (BC) 2, Rosa (BC), Clingan (BC).
Records: Bristol Central 13-0 overall; Platt 9-4.
