By Michael Letendre  

BRISTOL – The Bristol Central boys basketball program has taken on every elite squad the CCC has to offer this season.  

The Rams have battled the likes of Northwest Catholic and Windsor over a tough slate of games and then on Tuesday night, top-ranked East Catholic came to town for a CCC interdivisional showdown.  

Central hung around early against the Eagles but powerful East Catholic pulled out an impressive 88-44 victory from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.  

The Eagles improved to 12-1 overall, maintaining its grip on second place in the CIAC Division I playoff standings, while the Rams fell to 5-9.  

Catholic came out firing from deep, making 13 three-pointers overall, but the Rams had several good looks fall over the first and second periods of play while other field goal attempts just rimmed out as the home team made a game of it.  

The Rams missed all but one of its 3-pointers over first half play, but every shot looked to be a good one.  

“I said at halftime, the ten threes we’ve taken, they’ve been all good ones,” said Central coach Tim Barrette. “We had some good looks. We just didn’t make them. In a game versus East Catholic, it’s hard enough [to make shots]. I actually thought offensively, I was worried tonight about even getting to thirty [points] to be honest. We did a much better job tonight than we’ve actually done in some of our other games.”  

To start things off, Central’s Carmelo Thompson (team-high 15 points) dropped in a long range two-pointer and when Tre Blair found Jayeson VanBeveren (14 points, 5-of-7 shooting, 3-of-4 three-pointers, seven rebounds) for a lay-up, the Rams led 4-0.  

The Eagles quickly notched seven straight points before a VanBeveren 3 chopped the deficit to 8-7 with 3:47 to play in the first.  

But Catholic drummed up its defensive intensity, pressuring Central with lean 6-foot-4 center James Jones (10 points) at the top of its press, as the program went on a 10-2 burst to capture an 18-9 edge through one quarter of play.  

“Their length is just” incredible said Barrette of East Catholic. “Jones at the top of that press is hard to prep for. We used pool noodles [in practice] but it still doesn’t simulate what some of these guys can do athletically.”  

Central continued to make things interesting in the second stanza as Thompson canned two straight hoops to make it a 19-13 game with 6:29 left before the half and even as Joey Pikiell just missed out on drilling several 3-point bombs, the Rams were still in it.  

“East Catholic locks you up,” said Barrette. “They’re long, they’re athletic, they rotate fantastically. [Coach] Luke [Reilly] does a great job with them. But we moved the ball well. We got open looks. We just couldn’t hit a couple lay-ups [and] open threes. On a given night where they’d make a couple, we’d be down between seven and ten at halftime.”  

Catholic’s Luke Reilly (game-high 19 points) quickly popped off for three 3s over a blistering 21-6 burst that knocked the Rams out of contention.  

Jones added consecutive 3s to end the run and at the half, Central trailed 40-17.  

In the third tilt, Thompson and VanBeveren each canned a three-pointer but between East Catholic steals and lay-ups, additional three-pointers and even a slick alley-oop for a dunk by Jones, Central trailed 53-24 with 4:00 left to play in the frame.   

“We actually did a good job defending in the half court,” said Barrette. “Their threes and their lay-ups were coming off our misses, our fast breaks and our turnovers. We were giving up transition threes. [Luke] Reilly hit a bunch in the corner and then we gave up a couple lay-ups and dunks with a couple live ball turnovers.”  

To end the third, Central’s Mike Allan banked in a shot then found VanBeveren for a 3.  

Allan then made a steal, sinking 1-of-2 free throws, and when Harry Ross dished off to Mike McMahon for a 3, Central trailed 62-33 after three completed quarters with one left to play.  

Over the final eight minutes, Central’s Mason Stokes connected on a field goal, Thompson banked in another shot, JonManuel Gomez hit two free throws and Pikiell added five straight points – including a three – to end the scoring as Central absorbed a tough 44-point loss against one of the elite programs Connecticut has to offer this season.  

“I thought we battled all night,” said Barrette. “The effort was good tonight even with the opponent we were facing.”  

Bristol Central Boys Basketball – CCC Interdivisional Showdown  

EAST CATHOLIC 88, BRISTOL CENTRAL 44  

from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol  

East Catholic (12-1)              18 22 22 26 – 88  

Bristol Central (5-9)              9 8 16 11 – 44  

EAST CATHOLIC (88): Preston Fowler 5 0 10, Luke Reilly 7 0 19, Joey Montalvo 1 0 2, James Jones 4 0 10, Mason Cottrell 2 0 4, Rob Elliott 3 0 7, Samson Reilly 5 3 16, Raymond Rodriguez 2 1 6, Omar Oquendo 4 0 9, Josh Harris 0 2 2, Leondre Sanchez 1 1 3. Totals: 34 7 88.  

BRISTOL CENTRAL (44): Gavin Chamberlin 0 0 0, Mikey McMahon 1 0 3, Mike Allan 1 1 3, Jaysun Dominguez 0 0 0, Tre Blair 0 0 0, Carmelo Thompson 7 0 15, Joey Pikiell 2 0 5, Mason Stokes 1 0 2, Harry Ross 0 0 0, Aiden Lopez 0 0 0, Carlos Jimbo-Beltran 0 0 0, Dylan Brown 0 0 0, Jayden Sokolowski 0 0 0, Quincy Lawson 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeveren 5 1 14, Kai Khousombath 0 0 0, JonManuel Gomez 0 2 2. Totals: 17 4 44.  

Three-point goals: L. Reilly (EC) 5, Jones (EC) 2, Elliott (EC), S. Reilly (EC) 3, Rodriguez (EC), Oquendo (EC), McMahon (BC), Thompson (BC), Pikiell (BC), VanBeveren (BC) 3.  

Records: East Catholic 12-1 overall; Bristol Central 5-9.