Bristol Central boys basketball claimed a big 61-60 road win over Platt on Feb. 1 and at 6-8 appeared ready to push into a Division III state tournament spot.
Two straight home losses to Wethersfield and Berlin followed, and the Rams fell to 6-10. Central needed to get back on the right track, and it did with a 65-47 victory at Capital Prep on Feb. 8. The Rams claimed their Division III state tournament berth on Wednesday evening with a 49-38 win over Plainville inside the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at BCHS.
Donovan Clingan led Central with 16 points. The Rams also got offensive output from Sean Wininger (9 points), Ryan Rodriguez (6), Damion Glasper (6), Austin Brown (5), Royan Buchanan (4) and Shane Ouellette (3). The turning point for Central came in the second quarter, when it outscored Plainville 15-3 to take a 23-15 halftime lead.
The Rams still have an opportunity to get back to .500, but will need to win both of their remaining regular season games. Central plays at Hall on Friday at 6:45 p.m. The Rams host Bristol Eastern next Monday at 6 p.m.
