There are some nights where a team just doesn’t have it. That’s what happened to the Bristol Central boys basketball team on Monday night against Wethersfield inside the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium.
The Rams watched the Eagles put up an 18-point burst that stretched from the first quarter to the second quarter where they sank six 3-pointers. Wethersfield led by 14 points at the half. Central battled back to within five points in the fourth quarter, but was once again bit by the three-point bug. Wethersfield went on to win the game 68-49 and send the Rams to 6-9 on the season. The Eagles improved to 6-10 with the win.
Donovan Clingan led Central with 25 points, but he was the only Ram in double figures. Ryan Rodriguez added nine points while Royon Buchanan contributed five points.
Derek Tenney had 21 points for Wethersfield, including four of the team’s eight 3-pointers. Jimmy Luiz sank two 3-pointers on his way to 12 points for the Eagles.
Buchanan’s 3-pointer brought Central within 47-42 in the fourth quarter, but Wethersfield pushed back to a nine-point lead, 51-42. Clingan converted an old-fashioned three-point play to get the score to 51-45, but Tenney connected for a back-breaking 3-pointer to make the score 54-45. Tenney put up a shot fake, then drained the trey despite good defense from the Ram defender. From there, it was all Eagles.
Central needs two wins in its final five games to qualify for the state tournament. The next game is Wednesday at home against Berlin at 6:45 p.m.
Gallery
Here are my photos from Monday night’s game.
