By Michael Letendre

ENFIELD – For the second straight year, the Bristol Central boys basketball team will be playing in the finals of the Central Connecticut Conference Tournament.

And that back-to-back showing was fueled by one of Central’s biggest defensive efforts of the past two years.

The Rams held No. 4 Windsor to only four fourth quarter points as top ranked Central dropped the Warriors 57-37 in a CCC Tournament semifinal contest from Enfield high school on Tuesday night.

After unleashing 104-plus points on four opponents this past season, Windsor (18-4) was held to a season-low 37 – scoring just two points over a stretch of 6:04 that started at the tail-end of the third period and lasted until the 3:16 mark of the fourth as the game became a double-digit affair.

“We knew they were going to change it up” defensively said Central head coach Tim Barrette. “We had worked a little bit on it. We missed a couple of bunnies early. We were two of eight from the line in the first half. If we had done a better job in the first half, we should’ve been up 15 at halftime but with that being said, I can’t be prouder.”

“To hold a Windsor team to 37 points, that’s something to be proud of.”

Central (23-0) is one victory away from tying the school record for wins in a season as the Class L champs in 1989-90 went a sterling 24-0. The Rams also won 24 games back in 2002-03 (24-2) under then head coach Pete Wininger.

The Rams have won 38 straight games, another school record that can be extended in the finals of the CCC Tournament on Thursday in a huge contest against No. 2 Northwest Catholic at 7 p.m. from Enfield high school.

Northwest defeated No. 3 Conard 66-50 after Central took care of business against Windsor.

Central and Northwest will be ranked first and second, respectively, when the CIAC Division II pairings are released later today and the CCC finale could also be a state championship preview.

Bristol Central’s Donovan Clingan once again proved why he was Connecticut’s top player, boosting the Warriors for 28 points, 24 rebounds and six blocks over another impressive display. And when Windsor’s defense did a credible job sealing off the 7-foot-2 center, Damion Glasper added timely 3s early as he dropped in 14 points for the Rams.

“They spent a lot of attention on [Clingan] in the first half,” said Barrette of Windsor. “Damion Glasper picked us up on the offensive end.”

Steve Alseph added nine points, Carson Rivoira scored four, Victor Rosa scooped in a bucket while Julius Powell and Jayeson VanBeveren gave huge efforts off the bench over second-half play.

Tyler Betsey scored a team-high 20 for Windsor and his offense was enough to keep his squad hanging around at the end of third period play.

The first half saw three lead changes and four ties but once Glasper canned a 3 with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter, Central led by three and never trailed again.

Betsey hit a jumper to make it a 7-4 game in Windsor’s favor with 5:55 to go in the first frame but Central closed out the stanza on an 11-4 run.

Clingan scored five points and Glasper canned two 3s over the jaunt and through one period, the Rams led 14-11.

Central opened the second quarter with an 8-0 burst as Clingan started things with a dunk – off a slick pass by Glasper – and when Alseph kicked in a 3 with 5:00 left in the quarter, Central’s 22-13 edge was the biggest by either team in the first half.

A Betsey 3 trimmed the deficit to 24-20 with 2:26 left in the second stanza but Clingan scored four quick points and when one final floater by Alseph ended the scoring, the squad from Bristol led 30-22 at the break.  

“We gave [Windsor] six points in transition in the first half…I can’t ask for a better defensive effort in the first half,” said Barrette.

It took nearly three-and-a-half minutes for Central to net its first bucket of the third quarter but a floater from Glasper, a jumper by Alseph, and a quick Rivoira lay-up made it a 36-25 contest with 2:39 showing on the clock.

However, sixteen seconds later, Clingan picked up his third foul and had to retreat to the bench.

Windsor ramped up the pressure, allowed an offensive rebound put-back from Rivoira, but an 8-2 jaunt by the Warriors saw the squad trim the deficit to 38-33 with eight minutes remaining as Central was holding the fort.

“Every game that we’ve won, he’s been in a little bit of foul trouble,” said Barrette of Clingan. “Julius and VanBeveren did exactly what they needed to do. I can’t be prouder of the subs tonight [over] the limited minutes they gave me.”

With Clingan back for good to open the fourth period, Rosa started a Central 10-0 run with a runner, Clingan added two free throws and a couple thunderous dunks, and when Glasper connected on a driving lay-up, Central was back in control at 48-33 with 3:28 left.

Windsor simply couldn’t connect from deep as the squad scored only two late hoops.

“We wanted to run them off the [three-point] line,” said Barrette. “We’ll give up as many elbow jumpers as we need to in the fourth as long as the 3-ball doesn’t go in. We felt that we had a comfortable enough lead that we could finish the game off.”

Central ended the fray with a 9-2 burst, highlighted by an and-1 from Clingan, and when the final horn sounded, Central advanced to the CCC Championship round for the second straight year off the 20-point win against Windsor.

RIM DUST…After the win, Clingan, Alseph, Glasper, and Rivoira were all honored as CCC South All-Conference recipients.

2022 CCC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – SEMIFINAL ROUND

No. 1 BRISTOL CENTRAL 57, No. 4 WINDSOR 37

from Enfield high school

Windsor (18-4)                      11 11 11 4 – 37

Bristol Central (23-0)           14 16 8 19 – 57

WINDSOR (37): Tyler Betsey 9 0 20, Rashawn Tibby 1 0 2, Prince Samuel 0 2 2, Raymond Rodriguez 2 0 4, Quintin Floyd 2 2 7, Johnny Pierce 1 0 2. Totals: 15 4 37. 

BRISTOL CENTRAL (73): Victor Rosa 1 0 2, Damion Glasper 5 1 14, Steve Alseph 4 0 9, Carson Rivoira 2 0 4, Donovan Clingan 12 4 28, Julius Powell 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeveren 0 0 0. Totals: 24 5 57.

Three-point goals: Betsey (W) 2, Floyd (W), Glasper (BC) 3 Alseph (BC). 

Records: Bristol Central 23-0 overall; Windsor 18-4.

2022 CCC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Semifinal Round – Tuesday, March 1 

Game 13 – No. 1 Bristol Central 57, No. 4 Windsor 37

Game 14 – No. 2 Northwest Catholic 66, No. 3 Conard 50 

Finals

Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. (Enfield high school)