Central defeats Staples

BRIDGEPORT -- Dyshaun Pulliam scored 21 points, Joaquim Johnson 16 and Fitzroy Henry 10 to lead the Central boys basketball team to a 68-67 FCIAC win over Staples Wednesday night.

The Hilltoppers, who played a second straight game without Marcus Blackwell, improved to 10-7 overall and 9-6 in the FCIAC.

STAPLES (8-10, 7-9 FCIAC)

Esposito 8 4-8 20 Whelan 2 0-0 5 Casparius 7 0-1 21 Pritchett 1 1-2 4 Kohn 1 0-0 2 Seidmann 4 7-8 15 Totals: 23 12-18 67

CENTRAL (10-7, 9-6)

Pulliam 8 4-8 21 Daniels 3 2-2 9 Ballew 0 4-4 4 Hartley 2 0-2 5 Johnson 6 2-2 16 Richardson 1 0-2 2 Henry 5 0-0 10 Vann 0 1-2 1 Totals: 22 13-22 68

STAPLES 21 12 16 18--67

CENTRAL 15 17 14 22--68

3-pointers:

 S--Whelan, Casparius 7; 

C--Pulliam, Daniels, Hartley, Johnson 2.

Westhill defeats Central

BRIDGEPORT -- After scoring his final layup of the night and getting fouled, Westhill guard CJ Donaldson flexed his right bicep to let people know even though he is the shortest player on the court, he is still a force to be reckoned with.

Donaldson scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as Westhill held on to beat Central 69-68 Friday night.

Donaldson, who is originally from Bridgeport, said playing in front of his old hometown helped motivate him in the second half.

"I have to come out and play basketball, I can't just wait until the second half because sometimes it could be too late," Donaldson said. "I want to go after the Bridgeport schools, you know. It's always a fun game playing the Bridgeport schools and I know they are going to attack me and I have to come back with something."

And as for the flex.

"I got to show them I got muscles, man," Donaldson said. "I'm not that little."

A year after Westhill (14-1, 13-0 FCIAC) handed Central (7-, 6-6) its only loss, the Hilltoppers could not return the favor.

Jeremiah Livingston of Westhill and Marcus Blackwell of Central each finished with 28 points, leading all scorers.

The Vikings looked to be in control up nine with 15 seconds left but 3s by Dyshaun Pulliam and Blackwell cut the lead to 3 with 4.2 left. Livingston made a free throw, pushing the lead to four and making Blackwell's 3 at the buzzer moot.

It was Blackwell's work on the boards which helped bring Central back from a 25-12 deficit after one quarter.

"Everything starts with Marcus," Central coach Barry McLeod said. "It has been a pleasure for the past four years coaching him and it is going to be tough to see him go. He's just a model on and off the court. He's a super kid and everything starts with him and his effort on the court."

Central got within two midway through the third quarter but a 12-2 run by the Vikings closing out the quarter, put them up 12 after three.

Westhill coach Howard White said he would like to see his team close out teams with more authority, but anytime you can walk out of Central with a win, you take it.

"The win is what counts but there are some things that we seriously have to fix," White said. "I have been pleading with my team and if we don't fix what we need to fix we are going to be in trouble."

Scott.Ericson@scni.com; @EricsonSports

WESTHILL (14-1, 13-0)

Jeremiah Livingston 8 10-11 28; CJ Donaldson 6 4-5 16; Tyrell Alexander 5 0-0 11; Brendon Thomas 0 4-4 4; Leonold Auguste 1 0-0 2; Juan De La Cruz 4 0-0 8. Totals: 24 18-20 69

CENTRAL (7-7, 6-6)

Dyshaun Pulliam 4 2-4 12; Dondre Daniels 4 4-5 12 ; Marcus Blackwell 11 3-4 28; Charles Richardson 2 0-0 4; Jonathan Hartley 1 0-0 2; Joaquin Johnson 3 3-4 9. Totals: 25 12-17 68

WESTHILL 25 8 21 15--69

CENTRAL 12 16 13 26--68

3-point field goals: W -- Livingston 2; Alexander. BC -- Blackwell 3; Pulliam 2

Fouled out: None

Ludlowe defeats Central

FAIRFIELD -- The question, right to the point, was quickly shrugged off by Ludlowe coach John Dailey.

Are the Falcons finally legit?

"Well," said Dailey, pausing for the effect, "we're just taking it one game at a time. That's our mantra. We're just living in the moment."

In case any other coaches or teams in the FCIAC were thinking otherwise, better forget it. The Falcons are definitely legit.

Sparked by 23 points from Matt Doyle and 14 from Mason Rush, Ludlowe used an eye-opening 30-4 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a 17-point lead and coasted to a 68-57 win over the defending Class LL champions Tuesday night at the Falcons' gym.

Trailing 14-5 with three minutes left in the first quarter, Ludlowe scored the last nine points to tie the game at 14-14 and then used a 21-4 run over the opening seven minutes of the second quarter to take a commanding 35-18 lead.

"We definitely were ready for a big challenge tonight," Doyle said. "And after these earlier games and some people questioning our schedule at the beginning, we were excited to get going and we were kind of licking our chops when we saw a big challenge like Central."

As part of that first-quarter comeback, Rush had two huge putback baskets that gave Ludlowe the momentum. He added two other baskets in that second-quarter run -- with Chad Peterson adding nine points and Doyle seven -- as the Falcons opened a 38-23 lead at the half.

"(Rush has) shown a lot of promise throughout the off-season and he's just been getting better and better every day," Dailey said. "And with the absence of Hayes Kelchner at the center spot, we really need him and Greg Lawrence to step up and play great, and Mason was terrific tonight. I was really proud of his effort tonight. He's got a lot of upside."

Central, meanwhile, showed very little upside.

"We just didn't show up, you know? We weren't ready to play," Hilltoppers coach Barry McLeod said. "We haven't been in the gym in a couple of days and it looked like our attention span was limited. We got out to a lead and just let them go wherever they wanted, we had no ball pressure, we didn't apply any pressure, we never got any second shots, we just didn't play well in any aspect of the game."

Doyle scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Falcons went into the final eight minutes with a 58-40 lead and with three minutes to play, Ludlowe's lead was 67-47 before Central made it respectable with a 10-1 run to end the game.

"I felt that, at the start of the year, we were a very deep team and we stress team every day at practice ... any day at any given time," Dailey said. "We're playing for each other, we're playing tough and everyone understands their role."

And everyone is living in the moment.

CENTRAL (7-6, 6-5 FCIAC)

Marcus Blackwell 6 0-1 14, Charles Richardson 4 0-0 8, Dondre Daniels 7 0-0 15, Joaquim Johnson 2 0-0 5, Dyshaun Pulliam 4 7-8 15, Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0, Fitzory Henry 0 0-0 0, Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0, Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 6-8 57

LUDLOWE (10-3, 9-2)

Darren Lee 2 0-0 5, Greg Lawrence 3 0-2 6, Mason Rush 7 0-0 14, Matt Doyle 9 3-4 23, Chris Howell 2 4-4 8, Chad Peterson 4 3-3 11, Steve Zembruski 0 1-2 1, Pwn Mockler 0 0-1 0, Brendan Mockler 0 0-0 0, Cole Prowitt-Smith 0 0-0 0, Thomas Duffy 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 11-16 68

CENTRAL 14 9 17 17--57

LUDLOWE 14 24 20 10--68

3-pointers: C--Blackwell 2, Johnson, Daniels. L--Lee, Doyle 2

Fouled out: L--Howell

Central defeats Wilton

BRIDGEPORT -- Dondre Daniels and Marcus Blackwell scored 18 points each and Dyshaun Pulliam added 12 to lead the Central boys basketball team to a 66-53 FCIAC win over Wilton Thursday night.

Central improved to 7-5 with its second straight win, while Wilton suffered its third straight defeat and dropped to 7-4.

Matt Shifrin had a game-high 20 points for Wilton, while Richie Williams added 10.

Boys basketball

WILTON (7-4)

R. Williams 4 0-0 10 Shifrin 5 9-10 20 Shouvlin 1 2-3 4 Savoic 1 0-0 2 Bingaman 2 0-0 4 J. Williams 0 2-2 2 Savvaioes 1 0-0 2 Kronenbeng 1 2-2 4 Curtis 1 0-0 2 Brown 1 0-0 3 Totals: 17 15-17 53

CENTRAL (7-5)

Pulliam 3 5-5 12 Washington 0 0-0 0 Daniels 7 1-1 18 Ballew 1 1-2 4 Blackwell 6 5-6 18 Johnson 1 5-6 7 Richardson 1 1-2 3 Henry 1 2-4 4 Totals: 20 20-26 66

WILTON 10 14 8 21--53

CENTRAL 17 21 11 17--66

Central defeats Trinity

STAMFORD -- Dyshaun Pulliam scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as Central rallied for a 68-60 FCIAC win over Trinity Catholic Friday night.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak for Central (6-5).

BOYS BASKETBALL

CENTRAL (6-5)

Dyshaun Pulliam 10 7-9 31 Dondre Daniels 1 1-2 3 Marcus Blackwell 3 5-8 12 Jonathan Hartley 0 1-2 1 Joaquim Johnson 2 1-4 5 Charles Richardson 1 0-0 2 Fitzroy Henry 5 0-3 10. Totals: 21 17-31 68.

TRINITY CATHOLIC

Tyrell St. John 10 12-13 33 Justice Page 1 0-1 2 Anthony Lombardi 1 1-2 3 Thomas Costigan 1 0-0 2 John Lyons 7 3-3 18 Thomas Taniolakis 0 2-2 2 Dom Svreck 0 0-0 0 Bryce Lucas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 18-21 60.

CENTRAL 10 17 18 23--68

TRINITY CATHOLIC 18 17 15 10--60

3-pointers: C--Pulliam 4, Blackwell; TC--St. John, Lyons.

Highlights: C--Pulliam scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Bassick defeats Central

BRIDGEPORT -- In midst of a three-game losing streak that included a blown 17-point lead against Harding, Central coach Barry McLeod challenged his team to play with more intensity.

His players responded Wednesday with an inspired effort against Bassick, but they still failed to get the result he sought.

Just when Central made its run, Bassick answered, reeling off 10 straight points to pull away for a 76-62 road win.

"Any time two inner-city teams play, there's going to be a run made either way," Lions coachBernie Lofton said. "Once we withstood the run -- we figured that they were going to use a lot of energy -- we were going to turn it up a little bit with our pressure."

Central got as close as 49-46 late in the third quarter after trailing by 11 points at the half, but Bassick answered with a 10-0 spurt. The Lions (5-5) went up by as many as 17 points en route to a second straight win.

Kobe Ancrum scored 22 points to lead Bassick. Rajohn James chipped in 18 points, andCurhone Baldwin scored 12.

"The three, they carried us," Lofton said.

Limited to a short bench because of injuries, Central (5-5) was unable to keep pace with Bassick's speedy backcourt. The Hilltoppers got 20 points from guard Dyshaun Pulliam, but forward Marcus Blackwell was held to nine points -- below his season average.

"He always gives the effort, but his shots just weren't falling," McLeod said. "We cut it to three a couple times without him, but we just couldn't get over the hump.

"You need your best player."

Pulliam stepped up from the perimeter in the third quarter, scoring 10 points to pull the Hilltoppers within one possession. Baldwin answered with a pair of buckets to put Bassick back up 53-46.

With Central thriving from beyond the arc (five 3-pointers), the Lions switched from a man defense to a 1-2-2 zone to start the fourth. In turn, they outscored Central 25-16 over the final eight minutes.

The Lions have now won three of their last four games after a 1-3 start, and Ancrum believes they're on the cusp of breaking out. They visit Stamford (7-3) on Friday before returning home next week to face a pair of sub-.500 teams in Darien and Greenwich.

"This is our stretch right now," Ancrum said.

Central, meanwhile, is trying to find its way with a lineup that's still at less than full strength. Pulliam returned Monday after missing time with a sprained ankle, but the Hilltoppers remain without junior forward Oumar Keita (knee injury).

Center Fitzroy Henry, who returned last week from the flu, contributed 14 points. Dondre Daniels scored Central's first nine points and also finished with 14.

The Hilltoppers started the season 5-1, but the injuries finally have caught up to them.

"I've always had a bunch of timeouts at the end of games," McLeod said. "But this year, I've been using timeouts early as a mechanism just to get them a rest. I've never had to do that before.

"We just don't have the depth."

dbonjour@ctpost.com; twitter.com/DougBonjour

BASSICK (4-4)

Curhone Baldwin 6 0-4 12 Kobe Ancrum 6 10-13 22 Rajohn James 4 10-10 18 Mykell Stinson 1 0-0 2 Davonte Whitehurst 0 0-0 0 Jose Martinez 0 0-0 0 Kiante Smith 2 0-0 4 Jarod Hamilton 1 0-0 2 Tevin Cheatham 0 2-2 2 Brandon Hilario 0 0-0 0 Qualon Wilkes 4 0-1 8 Yarell Battle 0 0-0 0 Alex Jimenez 0 0-0 0 Malik Massey 1 2-2 4 Brevin McCullough 0 0-0 0 Cha'mon Highsmith-Davis 0 2-2 2. Totals 25 26-34 76.

CENTRAL (5-5)

Dyshaun Pulliam 7 2-2 20 Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0 Dondre Daniels 4 5-6 14 Quinton Ballew 0 0-0 0 Marcus Blackwell 4 1-1 9 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0 Joaquim Johnson 2 1-2 5 Charles Richardson 0 0-0 0 Fitzroy Henry 6 2-4 14. Totals 23 11-15 62.

BASSICK 16 20 15 25 -- 76

CENTRAL 15 10 21 16 -- 62

3-pointers: C -- Pulliam 4, Daniels.

Fouled out: B -- Smith; C -- Blackwell. Technicals: B -- Baldwin.

Central Loses to Hillhouse

BRIDGEPORT -- Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton insisted last week that the two New Haven-based schools in Monday's Martin Luther King Classic were going to get the better of their Bridgeport opponents.

He turned out to be correct.

Hillhouse rallied from a early deficit against Central and never looked back, pulling away for a 68-51 win in the nightcap of the tournament, which drew 4,673 across four games at Webster Bank Arena.

"We realized in the first half that they weren't even taking as many 3-pointers, let alone making them," Sutton said. "So we decided to go zone second half. We were able to rebound better."

Up by as many as nine points in the first half, Hillhouse (7-1) increased its lead to 57-42 after three quarters thanks to its dominance on the glass. The Academics pulled down 12 rebounds in the quarter, seven of which came on offense.

The Hilltoppers were outscored 29-20 in the second half, leaving coach Barry McLeodquestioning their effort.

"My teams usually compete harder than that," he said. "They didn't. They got beat, and they got beat all over. That team was better than us tonight. Whether it looked like it in warm-ups or not, our big guys didn't play big, our little guys didn't play quick.

"That's a recipe for disaster. It's been a long time since I've been as embarrassed as I am."

John Lewis had 17 points, and Joe Kasperzyk Jr. scored 16 for Hillhouse, which made it two-for-two for New Haven schools in Bridgeport. Wilbur Cross beat Harding 60-45 earlier in the day.

"The prediction was that both New Haven teams were going to go away victorious," Sutton said, "so I'm happy for the city."

Central's Marcus Blackwell finished with a game-high 25 points and Fitzroy Henry had 16, but they didn't get much help offensively. Only three other Hilltoppers scored.

Now 5-4, the defending FCIAC and Class LL champions will carry a three-game losing streak into Wednesday's game against rival Bassick. Although point guard Dyshan Pulliam (five points) returned Monday from an ankle sprain, the Hilltoppers are still far from full strength.

"Last year we went all year without having an injury," McLeod said. "You sort of get bumped a couple times this year, but that's part of the drill. That's life in athletics. They just took it to us."

Trailing 17-15 after one quarter, Hillhouse capitalized on a slew of turnovers and went up by eight thanks to a 14-4 run. Kasperzyk Jr.'s breakaway dunk gave Hillhouse its largest lead of the first half at 33-24.

Although the Hilltoppers struggled from outside with only one 3-pointer, Blackwell kept the Hilltoppers close with 12 first-half points. They weren't so fortunate in the third quarter, however.

"Winning and losing is not the issue," McLeod said. "I don't think we're competing as hard as I'd like."

dbonjour@ctpost.com; twitter.com/dougbonjour

HILLHOUSE (7-1)

Darius Griffin 0 0-0 0 Dontell Glover Jr. 5 1-2 11 Joe Kasperzyk Jr. 7 2-3 16 Troy Walters Jr. 1 2-6 5 Tyler Douglas 1 1-3 4 Christian Adams 4 5-5 13 Donell Allick Jr. 0 0-0 0 Demetrius Smith 0 0-0 0 John Lewis 6 5-6 17 Jalil Wilkerson 0 0-0 0 Tyler Williams 0 0-0 0 Byron Breland III0 0-0 0 Jvaughn Hoover 0 0-0 0 Chauness Johnson 0 0-0 0 Anthony Crenshaw 0 0-0 0 Aaron White 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 16-25 68.

CENTRAL (5-4)

Dyshaun Pulliam 2 0-0 5 Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0 Dondre Daniels 0 2-4 2 Quinton Ballew 1 1-2 3 Marcus Blackwell 8 9-12 25 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0 Joaquim Johnson 0 0-0 0 Charles Richardson 0 0-0 0 Oumar Keita 0 0-0 0 Fitzroy Henry 5 6-10 16. Totals 16 18-28 51.

HILLHOUSE 15 24 18 11--68

CENTRAL 17 14 11 9--51

3-pointers: H -- Walters Jr., Douglas; C -- Pulliam. Fouled out: C -- Henry.