By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – In a very unusual CIAC state tournament predicament, the Bristol Central boys basketball team is in a back-to-back situation tonight.

The Rams, ranked No. 1 in the Division II bracket, have a less than 24-hour turnaround as the locals, at 25-0, are in the quarterfinal mix.

And it’s going to be one heck of a challenge as No. 8 Waterford (19-6) comes to town.

The contest takes place tonight at BCHS at 6 p.m. and, frankly, there’s no rest for the weary.

“It’s an interesting scenario,” said Central coach Tim Barrette about the Waterford game. “There’s no prep [time] for either team.”

The showdown is going to mark the final game for Central’s senior core of eight seniors strong – including the 2020-21 Gatorade Connecticut Boys Basketball Player of the Year Donovan Clingan.

The winner of this contest moves on to semifinal round play on Tuesday, March 15 against the winner of No. 4 Wilton and No. 5 Holy Cross.

Staples (18-7) let a golden opportunity slip by in its second-round showdown against the Lancers (not our Lancers. That’s Waterford’s nickname as well) but a huge 3-pointer by Sean O’Connell tied the game late – forcing the overtime session.

From there, an 8-0 Waterford run knocked out Staples over the final four minutes of play.

The Lancers have some size and length and O’Connell – a talented 6-foot-4 senior – collected 20 points and 11 rebounds against Staples.

Clingan will be matching up against sophomore center Juan Morel Jr (10 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks versus Staples), an athletic 6-foot-8 center.

But does he have enough length to slow down a motivated Clingan?

That senior class from Central includes Damion Glasper, Carson Rivoira, Steve Alseph, Victor Rosa, Zach Vanasse, Aaron Brown, and Jelani Walton.

This is going to be one final time to see Clingan and those seniors strut their stuff from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol and it’s a big deal no matter how you slice it.