Bristol Central wins 2nd Straight Boys Basketball Tournament
Donovan Clingan dominated the paint to lead top seeded Bristol Central to its 39th win in a row and its second straight CCC Boys Basketball tournament championship with a hard fought 63-56 win over second seed Northwest Catholic.
The Rams took the lead midway through the opening period and never trailed although the Lions cut the gap to just one point twice in the second half. Clingan had 45 points, 28 rebounds and six blocks despite heavy defensive pressure from the Lions throughout the game. Clingan scored 15 of his team’s 17 fourth quarter points to hold off the Lions down the stretch.
Central led 19-14 after one period and were up 30-26 at the half after a Clingan dunk to close the scoring. Northwest, led by Matty Curtis, cut the gap to one point coming out of the halftime break, but three-pointers from Damion Glasper and Steve Alseph allowed the Rams to regain some breathing room.
Central extended its lead to double digits early in the final period as Clingan controlled the paint and the Rams defense clamped down.
Central reached the finals by beating Lewis Mills, in the opening round, scoring a win over Middletown for the third time this season in the quarters and downing fourth seed Windsor by 20 in the semis. Northwest advanced with an opening round win over Newington, then defeated rival East Catholic in the quar
ters before pulling away to beat Conard for the second time this season to reach the championship round.
Clingan led all scorers in the game with 45. Curtis had 28 and Gianni Mirabello added 11 for Northwest Catholic.
Click here for pairings and results
Click here for tournament bracket
Thurs., Feb. 24, 2022- 1st Rounds @ higher seeds
| First Round (2/24/22) | Visitor | Home | Location-Time | |||
| Game #1 | #16 | Lewis Mills 29 | @ | #1 | Bristol Central 66 | 16 at 1 |
| Game #2 | #15 | Newington 65 | @ | #2 | NW Catholic 88 | 15 at 2 |
| Game #3 | #14 | East Hartford 59 | @ | #3 | Conard 71 | 14 at 3 |
| Game #4 | #13 | Manchester 54 | @ | #4 | Windsor 70 | 13 at 4 |
| Game #5 | #12 | Platt 54 | @ | #5 | RHAM 72 | 12 at 5 |
| Game #6 | #11 | Berlin 66 | @ | #6 | Bloomfield 70 | 11 at 6 |
| Game #7 | #10 | East Catholic 44 | @ | #7 | Simsbury 33 | 10 at 7 |
| Game #8 | #9 | Farmington 50 | @ | #8 | Middletown 51 | 9 at 8 |
| Quarterfinal (2/26/22) | Visitor | Home | Location-Time | |||
| Game #9 | #8 | Middletown 58 | @ | #1 | Bristol Central 73 | Enfield HS-11:00 AM |
| Game #10 | #5 | RHAM 64 | @ | #4 | Windsor 91 | Enfield HS-1:00 PM |
| Game #11 | #6 | Bloomfield 70 | @ | #3 | Conard 74 | Enfield HS-5:00 PM |
| Game #12 | #10 | East Catholic 57 | @ | #2 | NW Catholic 69 | Enfield HS-7:00 PM |
| Semifinal (3/1/22) | Visitor | Home | Location-Time | |||
| Game #13 | #4 | Windsor 37 | @ | #1 | Bristol Central 57 | Enfield HS-6:00 PM |
| Game #14 | #3 | Conard 50 | @ | #2 | NW Catholic 66 | Enfield HS-8:00 PM |
| Final (3/3/22) | Visitor | Home | Location-Time | |||
| Game #15 | #2 | NW Catholic 56 | @ | #1 | Bristol Central 63 | Enfield HS-7:00 PM |
Bristol Central is Tournament Champion
