Last Friday night, the Bristol Central boys basketball team outlasted East Catholic, 69-68 in overtime, to win the CCC championship, its first since 2003.
Here’s a look back at that 2003 season, which was one of the best in program history:
In 2001, Central went 10-11 overall and lost in the first round of the Class LL state tournament. The Rams rallied in 2002, earning the No. 5 seed in Class LL after a 17-3 regular season. Central won its first round game over No. 28 Trumbull, but was upended by No. 12 Bridgeport Central in the second round.
The 2002-03 season was one to remember for Central. The Rams went 19-1 in the regular season and earned the top seed in the CCC tournament. Central easily dispatched Manchester, 70-48, and E.O. Smith, 72-49, in its first two games. The Rams took on New Britain, a team they had defeated twice during the regular season, in the CCC final. Central won a pair of close games (69-68, 65-57) during the regular season, but the conference title game was a no-doubter. The Rams whacked the Golden Hurricanes, 73-54, and earned the CCC championship.
Central got a game-high 23 points from Jeff Salovski, who was one of four players in double figures. D.J. Hernandez poured in 16 points, Brandon Dudzinski tallied 15 and Mike Cilfone added 14.
Central entered the Class LL tournament at 22-1 and was the top seed. After a first round bye, the Rams took out No. 16 Xavier, 60-47. Central hammered No. 8 Newington, 88-54, in the second round for its third win over the Indians on the season. The Rams reached the semifinal round for the first time since their Class L state championship season of 1989-90, but there would be no repeat of history. In a battle of the Centrals, Bridgeport outlasted Bristol, 85-81, in overtime at East Haven High School. Salovski had 36 points and Hernandez added 20, but it wasn’t enough. The Rams finished the season 24-2. The Hilltoppers went on to win the state championship.
For the season, Hernandez averaged a team-high 19 points per game. Salovski was right behind him at 18.7, plus a team-best 9.1 rebounds and 118 blocked shots. Cifone averaged 12.7 points while Dudzinski finished at 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Chris Klepps was the leading assist man with 138. Hernandez had 106 assists and a team-high 68 steals. Salovski, who earned the nickname “Big Deli”, shot 70.9 percent from the field. The team was coached by current Bristol Central principal Pete Wininger.
