By Michael Letendre

PLAINVILLE – If the snow and inclement weather will allow it, the Bristol Central boys basketball team is scheduled to take a road trip to East Hartford on Friday for a Central Connecticut Conference clash. 

Tip-off is slated for 6:45 p.m. 

Don’t let the Hornets’ 2-4 ledger fool you as the program has been a good one over the years and could give the Rams some legitimate competition. 

“This is what we want,” said Central coach Tim Barrette of playing tough competition.  

East Hartford recently broke a four-game losing skid with a 57-53 home victory over Enfield this past Tuesday. 

The Hornets have been tested to date, playing the likes of Farmington, New London, and even Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island – going 0-3. 

But East Hartford isn’t a pushover and Central wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“These guys want to play the best teams [and] that’s why we have the schedule we have,” said Barrette. “But every game counts.” 

And things are going to get a little tougher after that East Hartford bout. 

Newington is on the docket next week (Monday, 6:45 p.m., Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium) but that squad must play at Holy Cross in Waterbury on Saturday and then tackle Central two days later. 

That twosome of teams isn’t for the weak at heart. 

And then after the confrontation against Newington, it’s a big-time showdown outside of the state for the locals. 

Central hops a bus to Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College on Friday in a non-conference bonanza against Springfield Central. 

The fun begins at 7:30 p.m. 

However, Bristol Central isn’t looking that far in advance as it’s all about getting prepared for East Hartford on Friday. 

“It’s 5-0,’ after beating Plainville said Barrette. “It’s another win in the conference and we’ll get ready for East Hartford. We’ll go back to work [on Tuesday] and we must bring our ‘A’ game on the road on Friday.” 

Clingan Scoring Check 

Clingan is about to pass some Bristol scholastic hoop legends in terms of career points if everything goes according to plan against East Hartford. 

Currently, Clingan has scored 1,539 points to date and if he hits his current average, he’ll pass Mark Noon (St. Paul, 1,557 points) and Jim Bates Jr. (Bristol Eastern, 1,561) for fourth place all-time in Bristol scholastic history. 

And then, the only three players left in his path in becoming Bristol’s all-time leading soccer will be Central’s Malcolm and Martin Huckaby and St. Paul’s Carey Edwards. 

All three of those athletes were NCAA Division I players, by the way. 

For the season, Clingan averages 23.6 points-per-game, scoring 118 points to date, and dropped in a season high of 29 points along the way.  

More Scoring 

Damion Glasper is the second leading scorer for the Rams this season, busting out 14.2 points-per-game, while draining a team-leading seven three-pointers. 

His season high has been a 19-point effort but Glasper can easily score 25 points in a game if the need arises. 

Carson Rivoira re-tied his career high of 13 points at Plainville and provides the program 8.6 points-per-game along with statistics that don’t always show up on a standard stat-sheet. 

Unselfish Steven Alseph is the squad’s fourth leading scorer, posting 5.4 ppg while Mason Stokes dropped in eight points at Plainville – his career high – on his way to 4.6 ppg on the year. 

He’s the second leading three-point shooter in terms of makes, hitting five to date for the Rams. 

Julius Powell has done a tremendous job off the pine, adding 4.0 ppg and you know what you’re getting from senior standout Victor Rosa (3.4) who does most of his damage without putting the ball in the hoop. 

And Aaron Brown (2.2 ppg) has played in every game for Central which includes a seven-point effort along the way.