By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The postseason has finally arrived for the boys basketball program at Bristol Central and this time around, Connecticut’s top rated squad will take its shot at both the Central Connecticut Conference and CIAC Division II championships with a special group of seniors leading the charge.
Step one was the first round of the CCC Tournament with pesky Lewis Mills in the way.
But the Rams put on an impressive display as Central advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday via a 66-29 victory Thursday night from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.
Top ranked Central (21-0) won its 36th consecutive game while No. 16 Lewis Mills fell to 11-10 overall.
“We made them work for everything” offensively said Central coach Tim Barrette of Mills. “Every possession was a minute long and not because they were trying to run clock, it’s because we weren’t giving them a look. I’m really proud of them. I told them [after the game] ’way to lock in there defensively.’ We made them earn everything they got.”
Central star Donovan Clingan notched game highs of 25 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocked shots and when attention was diverted to the big man, Damion Glasper fired in seven three-pointers for 21 points.
Carson Rivoira added six points, Steve Alseph nabbed four and while Victor Rosa didn’t score in the game, he caused plenty of havoc on the defensive end.
Rivoira did an amazing job on Spartans’ sharpshooter Brice Waldron (two points) while Alseph chipped in defensively on the senior stud as well.
Jon Schibi and Connor Evans each canned two threes, collecting eight points overall to lead the Spartans but Central was able to run Mills off the three-point line over most of the encounter.
“What you’ve got to understand when you come in to play a team that is athletic at every position with a lot of length and lots of strength [like Central], they obviously can get themselves on you on the perimeter and force you into things that you may not be capable of doing because of the big man in the middle,” said Lewis Mills coach Ryan Raponey. “You make a move, you get by somebody, you get into the lane – typically against normal competition – that’s an opportunity for a basket. And we typically capitalize on those opprotunites.”
“Unfortunately tonight, it’s a different ballgame with Donovan in there.”
Clingan scored eight of the game’s first 10 points as his final hoop of the first quarter made it a 13-2 contest with 3:52 left in the frame.
But the Spartans hung around and off an offensive rebound from Jack Stanislaw and floater by Charlie Joiner, Mills had the deficit chopped to 15-7 with about 90 seconds remaining in the first period.
“They got seven offensive rebounds in the first half because they were pulling Donovan away from the hoop,” said Barrette. “But with that being said, had we just played one trip of defense each time, we would have allowed about five points in the first half.”
“I’m really, really proud [of the defense]…we’re better defensively than people give us credit for.
With Mills putting extra emphasis on Clingan, Central then scored 18 points between Rivoira, Alseph, and Glasper.
In fact, Glasper drained four straight 3s and after two quick hoops by Alseph, the Rams led 31-11 with 3:12 left in the half.
“You’ve got to make a choice,” said Barrette of who opponents should guard against Central. “In the first half, they were actually [using a] box-and-one on Donovan and leaving guys out there to shoot. I don’t blame them. We haven’t shot the ball particularly well but we’re much better at home as most teams are. Glasper got off to a great start offensively. He got that first one to go and from there, you know he’s a streaky shooter, but when you get off early, that usually results in a pretty good night.”
Consecutive trifectas by Schibi and Evans chopped the deficit to 16 (33-17) with 1:41 left in the first half but Clingan ended the scoring with a free throw and a tip-in at the buzzer as the home team led 36-17 at intermission.
“I thought we did a better job in the second quarter of trying to get what we wanted offensively,” said Raponey. “Unfortunately, I just didn’t feel we did a good enough job at our primary defense tonight to give ourselves a chance to hang in the game longer.”
But out the gate of the third quarter, it was all Central as the home team scored 17 straight points to turn the game into a bit of a blowout.
Clingan had 10 points, Rivoira hit two buckets and when Glasper kicked in his sixth three of the contest with 2:46 left in the stanza, it was a 53-17 game.
“I preach that first four minutes out of halftime,” said Barrette. “That’s generally our bread and butter. At halftime, [we] make a few adjustments but focus in on what we need to do. And our goal is to step on the [opponent] coming right out of halftime, put the game away, and then let our subs finish the thing off.”
And then Glasper unleashed a half-court three, hitting nothing but net at the third quarter buzzer, as his seventh and final 3 gave Central a 58-22 cushion as Barrette emptied the bench.
After an Eli Pelletier three pointer, Jayeson VanBeveren hit two straight hoops, Aaron Brown added a floater and a Mason Stokes jumper ended the scoring for Central as the squad won the contest by a 66-29 final – advancing in CCC Tournament play against Middletown on Saturday.
“We’re ready” for Middletown on Saturday said Barrette. “We’re ready as we’re going to be. I’d love to be able to practice tomorrow because the snow day [on Friday] throws in a wrench but you know what, this team is full of seniors. We’ll do something virtually [on Friday]…we’ll be locked in and on Saturday and be ready to go against Middletown.”
2022 CCC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – ROUND 1
No. 1 BRISTOL CENTRAL 66, No. 16 LEWIS MILLS 29
from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol
Lewis Mills (11-10) 9 8 5 7 – 29
Bristol Central (21-0) 21 15 22 8 – 66
LEWIS MILLS (29): Brice Waldron 1 0 2, Colby Cables 1 0 2, Ryan Mayes 0 0 0, Jon Schibi 3 0 8, Jack Stanislaw 0 0 0, Jacob Hall 1 0 2, Charlie Joiner 1 0 2, Connor Evans 3 0 8, Eli Pelletier 1 0 3, Logan Cowger 1 0 2, Tristan Mooney 0 0 0, Gavin Daly 0 0 0, Jack Nestor 0 0 0. Totals: 12 0 29.
BRISTOL CENTRAL (66): Victor Rosa 0 0 0, Michael Allan 0 0 0, Damion Glasper 7 0 21, Treshawn Blair 0 0 0, Steve Alseph 2 0 4, Zach Vanasse 0 0 0, Mason Stokes 1 0 2, Aaron Brown 1 0 2, Harry Ross 0 0 0, Jelani Walton 0 0 0, Carson Rivoira 3 0 6, Donovan Clingan 12 1 25, Julius Powell 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeveren 3 0 6, Carmelo Thompson 0 0 0. Totals: 29 1 66.
Three-point goals: Evans (LM) 2, Pelletier (LM), Schibi (LM), Glasper (BC) 7.
Records: Bristol Central 21-0 overall; Lewis Mills 11-10.
2022 CCC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – ROUND 1
No. 1 Bristol Central 66, No. 16 Lewis Mills 29
No. 2 Northwest Catholic 88, No. 15 Newington 65
No. 3 Conard 71, No. 14 East Hartford 59
No. 4 Windsor 70, No. 13 Manchester 54
No. 5 RHAM 72, No. 12 Platt 54
No. 6 Bloomfield 70, No. 11 Berlin 66
No. 10 East Catholic 44, No. 7 Simsbury 33
No. 8 Middletown 51, No. 9 Farmington 50
Quarterfinal Round – Saturday
Game 9 – No. 1 Bristol Central vs. No. 8 Middletown (11 a.m.)
Game 10 – No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 RHAM (1 p.m.)
Game 11 – No. 3 Conard vs. No. 6 Bloomfield (6 p.m.)
Game 12 – No. 2 Northwest Catholic vs. No. 10 East Catholic (8 p.m.)
*All Quarterfinal round games commence from Enfield high school
Upcoming Schedule – Semifinals
Monday, March 3 at 6 and 8 p.m. (Enfield high school)
Finals
Wednesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. (Enfield high school)
