Video of a steal and spectacular basket by Matt Curtis at the end of the first half in tonight’s game against undefeated Windsor.
And Northwest Catholic goes on to beat previously undefeated Windsor.
Somehow I got to watch this game off a you tube feed and certainly the luck I had in finding the video was well worth it in the end. Number four rated Northwest Catholic blew a big lead in the last couple of minutes yet miraculously ended up winning the contest by 1 point over number three Windsor on a last second tip in by freshman sensation Badara Diakite, although to be frank, if replay was used like in college I think the basket would have been waved off and the Warriors would have been victorious (as proven by a photo of the clock and the ball not yet out of the hand as put out there on social media). Look at the one that Curtis made at the end of the first half too. That also was oh so close to being ruled after the buzzer. And Matt played well BTW in scoring 32 points in a game where (obviously) every one was important. But to show how unusual this buzzer beating closeness was in play throughout, NW unbelievably also made a shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter that was waived off as no good. Anyway this had to be the best game of the year in the state so far in regard to how close and intense it turned out to be. It was fun to watch even though at times the video made the players seem a bit far away on some plays.
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2022 9:59:26 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
/ Facebook post of a CTPost article includes video of the entire last play of the game. Caption to the photo of the tip in at the end of the game indicates the buzzer and not the clock is what the refs use to determine the end of play in CIAC basketball. And the game was played at Windsor’s gym so Windsor can’t claim there was shenanigans involved by the officials at the scorer’s table.
/ Facebook post of a CTPost article includes video of the entire last play of the game. Caption to the photo of the tip in at the end of the game indicates the buzzer and not the clock is what the refs use to determine the end of play in CIAC basketball. And the game was played at Windsor’s gym so Windsor can’t claim there was shenanigans involved by the officials at the scorer’s table.
Well yes absolutely no shenanigans by the home side, especially since drawing the ire of HOF Windsor coach Ken Smith is not something to easily accept, so the official in charge of the clock should indeed be credited with doing his or her job correctly. BTW thanks for clarifying the process the CIAC uses in determining whether a shot is good or not. But in thinking about a situation like this it is interesting to note the difference in these modern basketball times where in college, at least in all games at the D-1 level where video is in play for the refs as opposed to the 'old fashioned' setup of high school ball where the call on the court stands, results of games can often be different based upon which system is in play. And controversy too. But the last thing I will say about this is that while many love the fact that in college now they usually 'get it right,' there are still some out there who hate the delay and the breakup of the exciting intensity of a fantastic finish while the officials take what seems like forever to decide a call based on the video. If last night's game was played with that system in place, perhaps they would STILL be at the scorer's table!
Post by nashvillestag on Feb 1, 2022 13:47:49 GMT -5
With the league tournaments and then the states less than a month away I thought I would post something here just to bring the thread near the top so people would be aware of a few things happening at the moment. So just one note from last evening that caught my eye is that Donovan Clingan had 47 points and 26 rebounds and he sat the last seven minutes of the game! Know nothing about the competition other than Platt had a good record coming in. Anyway, that's impressive no matter who he was playing against.
Last Edit: Sept 26, 2022 11:15:48 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
Link to the unofficial CIAC ranking of teams. Not sure what power points mean, but Notre Dame - West Haven and Naugatuck are ranked ahead of Bristol Central.
Link to the unofficial CIAC ranking of teams. Not sure what power points mean, but Notre Dame - West Haven and Naugatuck are ranked ahead of Bristol Central.
Forget the power points. A lot of that has to do with who plays who thereby distorting where certain schools might be placed in relation to others. But that said, do know this. While Naugatuck is decent and one of the better teams in the CIAC, I don't imagine they are in the class of Bristol Central (unless Donovan Clingan doesn't play of course). However regarding ND-WH, just the opposite is true. They are REAL GOOD and could be a threat to win the state tournament this season in the I division. Unfortunately with BC slated for the II tournament, they won't be meeting each other. OTOH a huge match-up of powers will occur later this month when ND travels to Northwest Catholic for a highly anticipated game between two of the best. I would call that one a toss-up at this time.
Last Edit: Feb 2, 2022 10:35:03 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
Wilbur Cross takes Bristol Central to overtime, then gets out scored 12-0 in OT. Hillhouse beat Windsor in game two of yesterday’s triple header in New Haven.
Wilbur Cross takes Bristol Central to overtime, then gets out scored 12-0 in OT. Hillhouse beat Windsor in game two of yesterday’s triple header in New Haven.
Both great games for sure! Got to give the local teams Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross credit for tremendous efforts even though Cross eventually lost their contest. They are a tiny team, height-wise anyway, but they have a lot of speed and a couple of great outside shooters in Delgado and McClease who gave BC fits. Those two did the same thing earlier in the year when they upset Northwest Catholic. Yes Clingan was hard to contain, yet in some ways he didn't perform to his capabilities because of the intense attention he attracted where ever he roamed on the court. Being double-teamed and sometimes tripled ended up frustrating him a bit. Normally Donovan gets loads of slam dunks. I think I only counted one or two in this game. Anyway again, certainly the fact that both contests went down to the wire was worth the trip up to New Haven for me.
Post by nashvillestag on Feb 12, 2022 0:59:55 GMT -5
Matty Curtis had a great performance tonight with 28 points in his team's victory over a very good Farmington team. Actually his production was needed more than normal because a couple of his teammates who normally contribute struggled a bit, especially in the first half where Northwest Catholic fell behind by almost 10 points early and were in some trouble. In fact Matt hit kind of a circus 3-point shot at the halftime buzzer to bring the deficit down to 1 point, a basket that definitely was the turning point of the contest considering NW took control of the game early in the second half. But as well as scoring, mostly off of drives to the hoop and making tough shots in traffic or getting fouled, he was very active on defense with a lot of deflections and even a couple of steals. He's well rounded in what he does on the court. Hopefully that trait will help him become a fine college player.
Post by nashvillestag on Feb 12, 2022 1:10:01 GMT -5
And now concerning last evening (Thurs. night), Donovan Clingan set a scoring record with 51 points against Windsor in the Ram's victory. I think they also had him down for something like 33 rebounds. And he set the school all-time scoring record in the process. With over 1,800 career points it looks like he will probably go over the 2,000 mark before he is done. But one other thing I would mention about this contest concerns a terrific performance by a Windsor sophomore named Tyler Betsey, a 6-6 forward. He had about 20 points and looked athletic and smooth. Someone to keep an eye on in the future. I would hope the Stags are aware of him.
Post by nashvillestag on Feb 14, 2022 16:34:41 GMT -5
With the return of the annual JCC All-Star Classic basketball game coming up in April which of course was canceled last year due to Covid, I've been told that Matty Curtis will be one of the players invited to participate. Yes he is still ticketed to attend St. Thomas More Prep next season, but as a graduating senior from a CIAC school in Northwest Catholic, that makes him eligible for this event. Oh and BTW, his AAU teammate and friend Donovan Clingan is also supposed to be there. Usually I don't get too excited about All-Star contests. But considering the two guys mentioned above are coming, not to mention that one of them will be a future Stag, I think I may change my opinion on that a bit, at least for this one time. Unlike most of these games where individual play and lack of defense takes precedence, historically this match-up of the best from Connecticut vs. some of the best from New Jersey usually produces a contest where the teams actually care and compete hard against each other. In fact over the many decades of this event the overall record between the states is very close to even (although I don't have the exact numbers at the moment).
Post by nashvillestag on Feb 22, 2022 10:24:49 GMT -5
Well if you don't want to read anything anymore about a guy who probably WILL NOT ever become a Stag, my suggestion is you just skip this and move on to something else. But for those who care, Donovan Clingan by scoring 31 points in Bristol Central's final regular season game of the year against Bristol Eastern became the 26th player ever in the history of the CIAC to go over the 2,000 point mark. He will go down in history as one of the best players (or at least best big men) to ever perform in Connecticut. And since he has been a subject of discussion here since his freshman year, to see him not only stay at BC despite many offers to go to higher lever prep schools, and then to more than live up to the promise he showed three years ago, well that is something that should make him and all his backers proud I think. And BTW to bring this back to a Fairfield connection, in the next 3-4 weeks if things work out as planned, the big guy against Matty Curtis's Northwest Catholic team is very likely twice. CCC final and then state final still to be played should set up a match if they each win out in each tourney.