2010 Championship Article

Central turns back Hillhouse to capture Class LL championship 

Henry Chisholm, Ct. Post Correspondent
March 20, 2010

UNCASVILLE -- Central senior Jerome Parkins thought he might cry if his Hilltoppers beat Hillhouse in the Class LL championship on Saturday. And as the clock ticked down at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Parkins was on the bench after having fouled out with tears on his face.

Luckily for him, they were tears of joy.

Top-seeded Central beat third-seeded Hillhouse 78-66 to win its first Class LL championship since 2003 and its fourth state title in school history.

"I cried with like 15 seconds left," said Parkins, whose team finished the year 27-1. "I tried to wipe it off but then I just said, `Forget it man.' I'm speechless, I'm so proud of my teammates and my coach."

Parkins had a team-high 19 points. He also had a 3-point play that fouled out Academics' star point guard Freddie Wilson to give Central a one-point lead with 3:19 left.

"(Parkins) is a special kind of guy," Central coach Barry McLeod said. "He'll foul three or four guys out. He may foul out too, but he's taking three or four guys with him. He doesn't quit."

Parkins also had seven rebounds and shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

Diontay Washington and Jerry Washington had 17 apiece and Andrew Victoria had a double-double of 16 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. 

"I knew I had to come up big so (Hillhouse) would focus on me," Victoria said. "They focused on me and then everyone else got involved. That's all we had to do tonight." 

Hillhouse (24-4) was led by Wilson with a game-high 20 and Tavon Allen had 14. The Hilltoppers defense forced 22 turnovers, 12 in the second half. 

"In the first half, our defense got kind of weak," Jerry Washington said. "But in the second half, we picked it up."

The Hilltoppers led 33-25 at the half before Hillhouse outscored Central 23-18 in the third to cut the Hilltoppers' lead to three at the end of the quarter. Hillhouse then took a four-point lead with 5:42 left in the game before Parkins stepped up and converted on two 3-point plays to put Central up again with 3:19 left. He then came up with a steal and finished at the basket to give Central a 66-63 lead with 3:06 in the fourth. However, Parkins fouled out with 1:49 left and the Hilltoppers up by three.

"When I fouled out, I was like, `Darn, I hope my team can pull it off,' " Parkins said. "But I knew my team could finish it off. I know they can play without me and I thank my team for playing hard."

Central closed the game on a 9-0 run to bring home championship No. 2 for McLeod, who said this is the best team he has ever coached.

"There's no doubt about it," McLeod said. "Whatever `it' is, they've got it. They never say die, they refuse to back down. They're relentless."

Class LL Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena 

HILLHOUSE (24-4) 
Freddie Wilson 7 6-7 20 Spencer Smith 3 0-0 7 Jengodji Gates 2 3-4 8 Tavon Allen 4 4-6 14 Malcom Willoughby 0 0-0 0 Bobby Bynum 0 0-0 0 Dana Griffin 0 0-0 0 Andre Anderson 1 3-5 5 Brian Patterson 3 5-5 12 Michael Barnes 0 0-0 0 Jason Burgo 0 0-0 0 Totals: 20 21-27 66 

CENTRAL (27-1) 
Jerry Washington 5 5-11 17 Kristopher Colon 0 5-6 5 Orayne Clark 1 0-0 2 Diontay Washington 5 5-7 17 Andrew Victoria 7 2-2 16 Jerome Parkins 4 11-14 19 Christon Gill 1 0-0 2 Moriba Keita 0 0-0 0 Totals: 23 28-40 78 

HILLHOUSE 2 13 23 18--66 
CENTRAL 17 16 18 27--78 


3-pointers:
H--Smith, Gates, Allen 2, Patterson; 
C--J. Washington 2, D. Washington 2 

Fouled out: H--Wilson, Gates, Allen; C--Parkins 

ctpost.com