By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The Bristol Central boys basketball team will be hooping into the final week of the scholastic season in Connecticut.

And the No. 1 ranked squad in the CIAC Division II fray put away one more challenger on Friday night as the Rams defeated No. 8 Waterford by a 70-48 final from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium in Bristol.

With that huge victory, Central is now 26-0, winners of 41 straight games, and is headed back to the Floyd Little Athletic Center on Tuesday to square off against No. 4 Wilton.

Game time is 7 p.m. and the showdown is going to be a doozy.

The Lancers (19-7) gave it one heck of an effort against the Rams, never letting the deficit drop into double-figures over the first half while a huge 3-pointer from Evan McCue (eight points) just ten seconds into the third quarter made it a 31-28 contest.

But Central turned up the intensity over the next seven minutes or so, turning its vaunted defense into offense and via a 23-5 burst, the home team nabbed a 54-33 edge – rolling into the fourth frame with zest.

“We’ve been a third-quarter team all year, let’s be honest,” said Central coach Tim Barrette. “The first four minutes of third quarter, I preach it in that locker room.”

Clingan ended his evening with 45 points, netting 29 of those over first half play, to go along with 18 rebounds and five blocked shots.

His teammates joined the offensive party in the second half as Carson Rivoira (nine points), Steve Alseph (eight), and Victor Rosa (four) netted all their points over second half play.

Damion Glasper notched four points and was the only player not named Donovan to score a hoop over first half action for Central.

And speaking of the first 16 minutes, pesky Waterford simply wouldn’t go away.

Sean O’Connell scored a team-high 12 points, Jordan Elci nabbed nine while Logan Peabody, Evan Piotrowski, and Juan Morel all scored eight.

That diverse offense helped keep the game from getting out of hand early as the visiting aggression attacked the hoop, then used a little long ball to pile up the points, as the Lancers chopped the deficit to two possessions (31-25) at the halftime break. 

“They make [good] adjustments,” said Barrette of Waterford. “They run their stuff and any mistake you make on the defensive end, they expose. Give Waterford all the credit. O’Connell, he was really crafty. The way he spins the ball around the hoop, he doesn’t have much elevation when he’s going to the rim but I’ll tell you, he’s a crafty player.”

Clingan notched the first 12 points for Central, including a huge 3 from the top of the key, to give the home squad an early edge and when Glasper made a steal and a hoop with 2:18 left to play in the first, the Rams held a 14-9 push.

Missed Central shots kept Waterford in the contest and a three from McCue to end the stanza chopped the deficit to 16-14 to end the first period.

Clingan netted 15 points over the following frame and after a lay-up from O’Connell made it a 20-18 contest with 5:29 remaining in the half, Clingan upped the ante.

He went on a personal 8-2 burst as he slammed one home, hit a slick hook shot, just missed out on an and-1 and off a miss and put-back by the 7-foot-2 All-Stater, Central was up eight at 28-20 with 1:50 left before intermission.

And when one final free throw fell in for Clingan to end the half, Central’s edge was just 31-25 as missed opportunities foiled the home team.

“We were 1-for-12 in that first half from 3-pointers,” said Barrette. “We couldn’t shoot the ball any worse than we had. The one being Donovan who made the 3. He had 29 of the 31 points in the first half. He kept us afloat, and we knew if we had just chipped in a little bit in the second half, we’d be able to push this lead out.”

Elci canned a 3 to open the third but Central turned up the heat ran off a slick 17-3 run.

And once misses and turnovers began to pile up for the Lancers, the Ram took supreme advantage.

“Once we got going, we turned them over a little bit in that 1-3-1 [defensive press], kind of sped up play a little bit. We got out in transition, got some easy looks and then once we started making shots, it gets a lot easier for Donovan because then there’s only two guys they can throw at him.” 

Alseph started the run with a huge 3, Glasper later added a jumper, Rosa dropped in a lay-up and when one final trifecta from Alseph hit nothing but net, Waterford was trailing big at 48-31 with 2:28 on the clock in the third.

“I can’t praise Steve Alseph enough,” said Barrette. “Let me just tell you, we came out of the huddle at the end of the third and we said ‘We’re up 19 guys, now it’s time to feed the monster the ball. Don’t take another three unless get the ball inside first.’ But Steve made some big shots in that second half and really put us up a bunch.”

O’Connell put-back a miss to stop the run but Central then went on a 9-0 push and when Clingan ended the jaunt with a 3-point play, the center had 40 points in the bank and the Rams scooped up a 57-33 cushion with 7:00 left in the contest.

Midway in the fourth, Rosa dropped in a basket, Alseph hit a hoop, Clingan scored five straight points and when Rivoira ended the showdown with two consecutive hoops, Central’s edge reached 70-42 with 2:23 remaining.

Waterford narrowed the deficit to 22 late as two free throws by Pat Barrs ended the event as Bristol Central moved on to the semifinal round off the 70-48 win.

The contest marked the final scholastic home games for Central seniors Victor Rosa, Damion Glasper, Steve Alseph, Zach Vanasse, Aaron Brown, Jelani Walton, Carson Rivoira, and the incomparable Donovan Clingan.

“I congratulated them in the locker room in finishing the regular season at home undefeated (12-0 from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium). It’s an accomplishment,” said Barrette. 

2022 CIAC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – Division II, Quarterfinal Round

No. 1 BRISTOL CENTRAL 70, No. 8 WATERFORD 48

from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol

Waterford (19-7) 14 11 8 15 – 48  

Bristol Central (26-0) 16 15 23 16 – 70  

WATERFORD (48): Juan Morel 4 0 8, Jordan Elci 4 0 9, Evan Piotrowski 0 1 1, Evan McCue 3 0 8, Sean O’Connell 4 4 12, Pat Barrs 0 2 2, Logan Peabody 2 3 8. Totals: 17 10 48.

BRISTOL CENTRAL (70): Donovan Clingan 19 6 45, Victor Rosa 2 0 4, Carson Rivoira 4 1 9, Damion Glasper 2 0 4, Steven Alseph 3 0 8, Julius Powell 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeveren 0 0 0, Aaron Brown 0 0 0, Tre Blair 0 0 0, Zack Vanasse 0 0 0, Jelani Walton 0 0 0. Totals: 30 7 70.

Three-point goals: Elci (W), Mccue (W) 2, Peabody (W), Clingan (BC), Alseph (BC) 2. 

Records: Bristol Central 26-0 overall, Waterford 19-7.

CIAC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT DIVISION II PAIRINGS AND RESULTS – Quarterfinals

Friday’s Scores

No. 1 Bristol Central 70, No. 8 Waterford 48

No. 4 Wilton 63, No. 5 Holy Cross 62

No. 2 Northwest Catholic 101, No. 7 Crosby 63

No. 3 Conard 55, No. 11 Middletown 43

Semifinals

No. 1 Bristol Central (26-0) vs. No. 4 Wilton (19-3) – Tuesday, 7 p.m.,

*from the Floyd Little Athletic Center

No. 2 Northwest Catholic (24-2) vs. No. 3 Conard (22-3) – Tuesday, 7 p.m.

*from Enfield high school

Finals

from Mohegan Sun Arena, 3/19-20, Time TBA