Bristol Central finishes No. 1 in final poll
Run through the kind of competitive gauntlet the Bristol Central boys basketball team went through last week, and you earn the right to finish No. 1.
Bristol Central won the Central Connecticut Conference’s championship Bracket 1 by defeating three teams ranked in the top five of the Register/ GameTimeCT Top 10 poll: fourth-ranked Windsor, second-ranked Northwest Catholic (on the road) and No. 1 East Catholic, also on the road, in the final.
Those performances vaulted Bristol Central (15-0) from fifth to No. 1 in the final poll announced on Monday. The Rams finished with 17 of the 19 first-place votes and 566 total points from the state media.
“This was our tournament, this was our state championship,” junior
Carson Rivoira said following Bristol Central’s 69-68 overtime win over East Catholic in Manchester. “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.”
Said Bristol Central coach Tim Barrette following Friday’s win: “If you beat (Nos.) 4, 2 and 1, I definitely think we deserve some consideration when the polls come out.”
Sacred Heart (14-0) secured the No. 2 spot and the other two first-place votes in the final poll after defeating Naugatuck in the NVL tournament final. Sacred Heart announced in February that the school will be closing at the end of the school year.
East Catholic (14-1) placed third (484 points). Northwest Catholic (13-1) and Ridgefield (15-1), which won its third consecutive FCIAC championship, round out the top five.
Bristol Central junior center Donovan Clingan finished with 101 points and 79 rebounds in the three tournament games.
“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.”