By Michael Letendre

MANCHESTER – Down one point against East Catholic late in overtime in its CCC Tournament championship showdown, the fourth ranked Bristol Central boys basketball team went to its bread-and-butter for the game-winning hoop.

And Central center Donovan Clingan looked to close out the 2021 campaign with the biggest basket of his career.

East Catholic led the contest by a 68-67 score with 14 seconds to play and James Jones was at the foul line, looking to make it a two-point game.

But he missed his second shot and when Clingan corralled the rebound, Central was off and running – looking to put the nail in the coffin with a come-from-behind hoop.

Clingan zipped the ball over to Damion Glasper as he sprinted up the court.

Just over half court, Glasper passed off to Victor Rosa who was stationed at the three-point line.

He faked a three and dumped the ball into Clingan, who was tripled-teamed going to the hoop, but quickly dropped the ball in for two as Central recaptured the lead at 69-68 with six seconds left.

In the last possession of the game, Catholic’s Matt Houde navigated the ball to center court, chucked up a 3, but missed it badly as the celebration was on with the Rams taking the championship via the 69-68 victory.

Central had to battle all the elements to win the title, beating No. 5 Windsor, No. 1 Northwest and then No. 3 East Catholic who had a combined one loss coming into the postseason.

The contest was also a revenge game for the Rams, avenging the CCC Tournament loss to the Eagles last season.

But it was a different year for those Rams – an amazing run by an equally amazing squad.

Clingan finished the 2021 campaign with an eye-popping 33 points, 26 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists. 

Those numbers all came amid foul trouble which Clingan navigated through brilliantly.

Contributions came from everyone for Central as the attention was firmly on Clingan.

Carson Rivoira netted a career-high 13 points, Damion Glasper added nine, Victor Rosa had six while D’Ante Ross flipped in five.

Four players notched double figures for the Eagles (14-1).

Luke Strole blasted in 20 points with 18 coming over the second half, Brody Limric had 19, Luke Reilly added 13 while Matt Houde scored 10 for previously undefeated East Catholic.

At one point in the game, the Rams were leading by twenty-plus points before the Eagles gained a late edge – its first of the game – in the fourth period, eventually forcing overtime.

The Rams led at the end of the first three quarters, playing well before East Catholic’s offense took charge late via a 22-point third quarter and a 20-point fourth frame, tying things up at 58-58 through thirty-two grueling minutes.

It was back and forth early with Central securing a quick 8-6 push 3:30 into things.

The Rams’ defense kept Catholic from penetrating into the paint while the locals used an 8-2 burst to end the stanza and at the end of one period, Central led 16-8.

Clingan had six points while the high-scoring Limric flipped in four over the first eight minutes of play.

Midway through the second, it was a 23-11 game and that edge raced out to 26-13 as Central was in cruise control.

Clingan had to retreat to the bench with foul trouble at the 3:36 mark of the second stanza but Central’s defense continued to keep the Eagles from scoring.

To end the half, Rosa canned a 3 – the second of the quarter for the junior – as the Rams held an imposing 29-16 edge at the half on enemy territory.

Sean Wininger scored early hoops to start the third period and off a 15-6 run, Central was cruising at 44-22 with 4:38 to go via a Clingan three-point play.

From there, the Eagles outscored the Rams 16-7 as the home team began playing better.

The Eagles were able to trim the lead to 13 to end the third but the Rams still held a 51-38 push with eight minutes to play in regulation.

Turnovers were starting to mount up for Central and off a seven-point fourth period effort, East Catholic eventually secured the lead late.

Foul trouble kept Clingan off the hardwood for stretches of the fourth and the Eagles trimmed the deficit to nine midway through the tilt.

Clingan, and his four fouls, was back on the floor with 5:25 left in the fourth but Catholic kept up the pressure.

A late seven-point lead was erased when Reilly flipped in a lay-up with 2:38 to go in regulation as the teams were all tied up at 55-55.

Central went back up by one but seconds later, Matt Houde canned a three with 2:01 left in the fourth, the Eagles scooped up a 58-56 lead.

But Central tied things up at 58-58 off Clingan free throws and the Eagles took some time off the clock, looking for one final dagger in regulation.

That winning hoop, with a second to play, never fell through as the team’s needed OT to determine the CCC champion.

However, the home squad missed several late charity tosses, any of which would have put more pressure on Central over the extra session.

Central trailed 64-63 as the game was winding down and with 19 seconds to go, Central trailed 68-65 and needed big plays to pull out the upset win.

And then with the score at 68-67, and Central needing a game-winning hoop, Rosa found Clingan for the final basket of the game as the Rams finished the year undefeated, winning the CCC championship by a point (69-68).

BOYS BASKETBALL PAIRINGS

Championship Bracket

Round 1 – March 22

#8 EO Smith 45, #1 NW Catholic 75

#5 Windsor 59 at #4 Bristol Central 73

#6 Middletown 40,  #3 East Catholic 82

#7 East Hartford 58,  #2 Maloney 57

Semifinals – March 24

Bristol Central 71, Northwest Catholic 60

East Hartford 38, East Catholic 55

Consolation – March 24

Newington 43, EO Smith 66

Middletown 62, Maloney 70

Finals – March 26

Bristol Central 69, East Catholic 68 (OT)

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT CONFERENCE, Championship Division – Finals

BRISTOL CENTRAL 69, EAST CATHOLIC 68 (OT)

from East Catholic high school, Manchester

Bristol Central (15-0) 16 13 22 7 11 – 69

East Catholic (14-1) 8 8 22 20 10 – 68

BRISTOL CENTRAL (69): Damion Glasper 3 2 9, Victor Rosa 2 0 6, Sean Wininger 2 0 4, D’Ante Ross 2 0 4, Carson Rivoira 6 1 13, Eli Rodriguez 0 0 0, Donovan Clingan 12 9 33. Totals: 27 12 69.

EAST CATHOLIC (68): Luke Reilly 3 5 13, Rayshawn Adams 1 0 2, Luke Strole 8 1 20, Matt Houde 3 3 10, James Jones 1 2 4, Brody Limric 8 1 19, Leon Sanchez 0 0 0. Totals: 24 12 68.

Three-point goals: Glasper (BC), Rosa (BC), Strole (EC) 3, Limric (EC) 2, Reilly (EC), Houde (EC).

Records: Bristol Central 15-0 overall; East Catholic 14-1