By Michael Letendre 

WEST HARTFORD – The Bristol Central and Northwest Catholic boys basketball teams came full circle on Wednesday evening in the first round of CIAC Division I state tournament for yet another postseason rematch. 

And with season ending implications on the line, the Rams held their own – especially early in the mix. 

But the No. 2 seed eventually turned Central misses into offense, hitting shots inside and out, and after thirty-two hard fought minutes, the No. 15 ranked Rams ended their season with a 79-40 loss to the Lions in the second round of CIAC Division I play from West Hartford. 

Northwest (19-3 overall) earned a quarterfinal game against No. 10 Hillhouse on Friday while Central ended its year at 6-15. 

The Lions used its massive frontline of 6-foot-8 London Jemison ( game-high 19 points), 6-foot-9 Jack Nieradko (13) and 6-foot-9 Badara Diakite (16) to nab defensive rebounds and then flush down dunks and high percentage buckets while guard Gianni Mirabello (14) cleaned up with 3s and slick passing to his big man contingent for quick hoops. 

But Central just didn’t come and show up because the Rams hung around in the fray from the start. 

It was just a one possession game during the late stages of the first period while early in the second, it was just a 17-11 deficit off a long Joey Pikiell (five points) jumper. 

The only problem was every missed offensive opportunity by Central turned into points on the flip side as Northwest showed its usual offensive efficiencies.  

“I said to these guys at halftime ‘we’re four made shots away from being down four’” points said Bristol Central coach Tim Barrette. “Because every time we missed a lay-up, they got a dunk on the other end. We got good looks at the rim and even the threes we took were good early. We just didn’t make them. I can’t fault them for effort.” 

“The game plan, obviously, was a lot different than last time [we played them]. We tried taking advantage of not having that shot clock for one last game.” 

The slowdown game worked to start as Central’s Mike Allan (four points) cashed in on an early lay-up and when Carmelo Thompson (10 points) flashed in a 3 with 3:06 left to play in the first quarter, the Lions lead was trimmed to 10-5 as the visitors scored points when the double-team failed to work off a little four corner offense. 

“We held the ball for extended periods, but we held the ball looking for good offense,” said Barrette. “When the double came, we were trying to play 4-on-3. And we did a good job of not turning the ball over too much. But every time we missed a lay-up or shot a long three, it ended up in a dunk on the other end.” 

Central’s Harry Ross (four points) mixed it up with Northwest’s bigs, cashing in on two free throws via an offensive rebound and with 2:40 showing on the clock in the first, the Rams were down just one possession (10-7). 

“I thought Harry’s minutes in the first quarter were excellent,” said Barrette of Ross. “The second quarter was a little bit more regression to the mean, but he did a good job. I worked these young guys a lot this week [in practice]. Jay Dominguez, Harry, Quincy [Lawson], Melo, and Joey, I tried to play them as much together to build a foundation for the future.”  

Northwest then reeled off seven straight points to end the first as a three-point play by Sean Akey made it a 17-7 contest eight minutes in. 

To open the second period, Thompson hit a sweet fallaway jumper and when Pikiell kicked in his hoop, the Rams trailed just 17-11 with 6:44 left before the half. 

Northwest put the game into hyperdrive a bit via a 13-0 sprint, with Jemison scoring seven of the points during the run, as the No. 2 seed went up 30-11 with 3:52 remaining in the second. 

To end the first half scoring, Central’s Jayeson VanBeveren made a nice back-door pass to Tre Blair (four points) for two and Mason Stokes (team-high 11) canned a 3 to trim the halftime deficit to 36-16. 

“At halftime, I think we [gave up] 12 points on offensive rebounds. They had eight offensive rebounds at the half,” said Barrette of Northwest. “But it wasn’t due to lack of effort. One or two times, we could have boxed [out better]. Obviously, missing Julius [Powell] all year [due to injury hurts] but tonight, it’s a different game if he’s at center.” 

“But that’s a good basketball team. Its guard play is excellent and every time we play them, they seem to shoot the ball well.” 

Northwest opened the third tilt with a 13-6 burst which saw the Lions turn Central misses into multiple dunks and when Diakite dropped in a free throw with 2:25 left to go in the stanza, it was a 49-22 game. 

VanBeveren hit two charity tosses to end the third as the Lions were in charge at 54-24 with one period to go. 

Ross made another nice putback off a miss to open the fourth but 13 straight points by the home team saw Northwest gobble up a 67-26 push with 5:11 remaining.  

Barrette then put his four healthy seniors in the game for a little burn as Allen, Stokes, Blair and VanBeveren, with Powell cheering them on from the bench, sparked an 11-4 burst and off a slick 3 by Stokes, Central trailed 71-39 with 3:31 left. 

Barrette quickly pulled his senior crew from there for one final time and Thompson drained another 3 to end the scoring as Northwest moved on in postseason play off the 79-40 victory. 

The game marked the final scholastic contest for Central seniors Mike Allan, Tre Blair, Mason Stokes, Jayeson VanBeveren and Julius Powell.

Central ended its year at 6-15 as the defending CIAC Division II champs and should be much improved as the 2023-24 campaign rolls around.  

“We’ve got to do a lot of work in the offseason,” said Barrette. “But if we put the work in, with the returners and Mikey [McMahon] coming back and that freshman group that played really well, I think in a couple years, we’re going to be really, really, good.” 

Bristol Central Boys Basketball – CIAC Division I, First Round Game 

No. 2 NORTHWEST CATHOLIC 79, No. 15 BRISTOL CENTRAL 40 

from Northwest Catholic High School 

Bristol Central (6-15)                       7 9 8 16 – 40 

Northwest Catholic (19-3)                17 19 18 25 – 79 

BRISTOL CENTRAL (40): Gavin Chamberlin 0 0 0, Mike Allan 2 0 4, Jayson Dominguez 0 0 0, Tre Blair 2 0 4, Carmelo Thompson 4 0 10, Joey Pikiell 2 0 5, Mason Stokes 4 0 11, Nate Ortiz 0 0 0, Harry Ross 1 2 4, Aiden Lopez 0 0 0, Dylan Brown 0 0 0, Jayden Sokolowski 0 0 0, Quincy Lawson 0 0 0, Jayeson VanBeveren 0 2 2, Kai Khounsombath 0 0 0. Totals 15 4-4 40. 

NORTHWEST CATHOLIC (79): London Jemison 8 2 19, Anthony Thompson 2 1 5, Sean Akey 2 1 5, Gianni Mirabello 6 0 14, Cooper Steele 0 0 0, Jack Nieradko 6 0 13, Tanner Ostop 2 1 5, Ryan Tolliver 1 0 2, Liam Conklin 0 0 0, Badara Diakite 6 4 16. Totals: 33 9-12 79. 

Three-point goals: Thompson (BC) 2, Pikiell (BC), Stokes (BC) 3, Jemison (NWC), Mirabello (NWC) 2, Nieradko (NWC). 

Records: Northwest Catholic 19-3 overall; Bristol Central 6-15.