Thursday night’s boys basketball game between Bristol Central boys basketball and Windsor had the makings of one of the best games of the season.
The undefeated and top-ranked Rams (15-0) hosted the fifth-ranked Warriors (12-2) in front of a large crowd in the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium. Two CCC stalwarts going at it for 32 minutes sounded like a big night in the making. Then Donovan Clingan took over and Central rolled to an 83-67 win over Windsor.
Clingan erupted, and I mean erupted, for 51 points, 31 rebounds and nine blocks (10 according to one observer on Twitter). Regardless of how many blocks the 7-foot-2 senior star center ended up with, that is a ridiculous stat line. Absolutely ridiculous.
Ken Smith’s Windsor teams are known for being quick and physical, but like everyone else that has played Central so far, they didn’t have an answer for Clingan, who is committed to play at UConn. Clingan’s 51 points broke his own single-game school record of 47 that he had on Jan. 31 against Platt.
Windsor began the game on a 7-0 run. Carson Rivoira scored to end that opening salvo, and Central later seized the lead for good in the first quarter, but it wasn’t Clingan who did the damage at that point. Trailing 14-11, the Rams got five consecutive points from guard Victor Rosa. Rosa’s 3-pointer gave Central a 16-14 lead. Fellow guard Damion Glasper scored and was fouled, and his 3-point play upped the margin to 19-14. Windsor hit a 3-pointer before the quarter buzzer, but Central led, 19-17, after the opening eight minutes.
Clingan put home a layup for the first two of his 14 second quarter points, then Steve Alseph drove the lane and laid one in. The Rams wound up scoring the first six points of the second quarter, forcing a timeout from the Warriors. It wasn’t the last time Smith called time to try to stop Central’s surge. Unfortunately for Smith and Windsor, the timeout just delayed the inevitable. By halftime, Clingan had 23 points and the Rams led, 42-28. The lead increased to 64-44 by the end of the third quarter, and by that time, Clingan increased his personal total to 39.
In the fourth quarter, Clingan rammed home a two-handed dunk to break his own single-game record. Central improved to 16-0 with the win and has won 31 straight games.
Photo caption: Bristol Central’s Donovan Clingan broke his own single-game scoring record with 51 points in a win over Windsor on Thursday night. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
