Bristol Central celebrates its 2021 CCC Championship after a 69-68 OT victory over defending champion East Catholic (Photo Sean Patrick Bowley / Hearst Connecticut Media)
MANCHESTER — It wasn’t beneath the klieg lights of Mohegan Sun. It wasn’t in front of an overflow crowd at Bulkeley’s Babe Allen Field House. Yet, the pressure was real Friday night, in the waning moments of the Central Connecticut Conference Championship game at sparsely populated East Catholic gymnasium.
Bristol Central had squandered a 20-point lead in the second half and looked on the verge of losing this heavyweight bout to defending champion East Catholic in overtime.
But, given another chance with 14 seconds remaining, Bristol Central and its 7-foot-1 behemoth Donovan Clingan would not — could not — be stopped.
Clingan collected a perfectly-thrown pass from teammate Victor Rosa, turned around against a futile triple team and threw up a short jumper with six seconds remaining to deliver Bristol Central over East Catholic 69-68 and its first CCC championship since 2003.
CCC BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
“I was feeling good,” Clingan said. “On the bench, everyone was just like: Let’s go, we got this. I’m finishing it. I’m making this layup. I made the layup and won the game. …For what we got, I’m extremely grateful. I did it for my mom, smiling from above. I’m just here to make her proud and I will continue to do so.”
Here’s what the final 14 seconds of the CCC Championship looked like: Clingan inside wins it, Bristol Central 69-68 over East Catholic #ctbb pic.twitter.com/AtwjTuTYlK
— Sean Patrick Bowley (@SPBowley) March 27, 2021
Clingan’s championship play was the cherry atop one of the most dominant individual performances in recent memory. A junior, four-star recruit who holds approximately 20 offers from major Division I college programs, Clingan finished with 33 points, hauled in 26 rebounds, had five assists and seven blocks on Friday.
Bristol Central, ranked No. 5 in the latest GameTimeCT top 10 poll, capped off its 15-0 season by beating No. 4-ranked Windsor and No. 2-ranked Northwest Catholic by double-digits, and then beating No. 1-ranked East Catholic for the title on its own floor.
Donovan had 101 points and had 79 rebounds, combined, in three tournament games — an average of 34 points and 26 rebounds.
Donovan Clingan after his ridiculous tournament run and leading Bristol Central to the CCC tournament title #ctbb pic.twitter.com/Jnp0DYxtfe
— Sean Patrick Bowley (@SPBowley) March 27, 2021
“This is why he stayed here with us,” Bristol Central coach Tim Barrette said. “He was all about Bristol Central. He’s been telling everyone that. That’s why he didn’t go to bigger preps. He didn’t look at other opportunities. He’s all about this.
“He’s the one leading the chant at the end — ‘Family’ — in the middle of the floor. This is his family.”
Donovan’s hulking presence in the middle kept East Catholic out-of-sync for much of the game’s first three quarters. And, while Donovan drew a crowd on offense, his teammates consistently knocked down big shots to help the Rams build as much as a 21-point lead in the third quarter.
Clingan: Not in his house #ctbb pic.twitter.com/6HD8FRpjnq
— Sean Patrick Bowley (@SPBowley) March 26, 2021
Carson Rivoira added 13 points and Damion Glasper 9. Rosa sunk a pair of 3s to put Central ahead 29-16 at halftime. All three are juniors along with Clingan.
“People doubted us all year, saying we had just me,” Clingan said. “But I knew we had more than just me, the kids all around me. Everyone’s worked hard, everyone knows their role and stepped up to play tonight.”
East, however, made one of its patented runs. It dialed up its full-court defense in the second half and– thanks to heroic performances from Luke Strole, who scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, Brody Limric (19 points) and Luke Reilly (12 second-half points) — took a 58-56 lead with 1:42 remaining.
“We got rattled, we got rattled,” Barrette said.
Victor Rosa with the big 3 before the half #ctbb pic.twitter.com/0QwPnHOWVW
— Sean Patrick Bowley (@SPBowley) March 26, 2021
After Clingan managed to tie the game on a pair of foul shots, East didn’t get a good look after holding the ball for the final seconds of regulation, sending the game to overtime.
East Catholic threatened to take control of the final minutes of overtime when Matt Houde (10 points) hit a jumper for a three-point lead. But the Eagles only made 5-of-10 foul shots down the stretch, keeping Bristol Central alive just long enough to get the ball back, down just 1 with 14 seconds remaining.
Rosa and Clingan did the rest.
“I told those guys when we called that last time out that we were in the spot we wanted to be,” Barrette said. “We wanted to push the ball up the sideline and get the ball inside to our horse and we did at the end — with three guys on him.”
An unbeaten season and a CCC title over East Catholic secured, Bristol Central believes it’s the No. 1 team in the state. “If you beat (Nos.) 4, 2 and 1, I definitely think we deserve some consideration when the polls come out next week,” Barrett said.
“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Clingan said. “We’ve worked hard every single day the past couple of months and staying safe, COVID-wise and everything. I’m proud of these guys. I can’t be more proud of them.”
“This was our tournament, this was our state championship,” Rivoira said. “To fight back from the runs that East Catholic had and to still come out on top was amazing. There’s no words to describe it right now.
“We are the best team in the state. And I’ll stand by that.”
