Central defeats Darien

Darien boys no match for Central

Anthony E. Parelli

 Friday, December 19, 2014

DARIEN -- After scoring the first eight points of the game and seemingly coming out of the gate

strong Bridgeport Central found itself tied with Darien at 15 early in the second quarter. In danger of losing their first two games of their season the Hilltoppers went on a 20-2 run to finish the quarter enroute to a 76-36 rout of the Blue Wave.

"We picked up our pressure," Central (1-1) coach Barry McLeod said of the early adjustment. "I knew that we could wear them down and the pressure just took its toll and we started to pick up some intensity. I was really happy with the unselfishness that we showed, we made the extra pass many times and I thought we looked pretty good overall."

The Hilltoppers, who are defending FCIAC and Class LL champions, lost their first game to Stamford but rebounded well tonight against a young Darien (0-2) team. Central had four players in double digits and nine players overall with points.

Dondre Daniels led all scorers with 20 points, while Dyshaun Pulliam and Marcus Blackwell both

contributed 12. Joaquim Johnson had 11points, nine of which came during the second quarter run.

"Everything we do is based on our quickness," McLeod said. "The other night and it affected us, it gets us going offensively, we're trying to get the ball into the middle and once we did that we were able to kick it out and that's when it all works."

For Darien, every game is going to be a step in the process of rebuilding the Blue Wave. First year coach Charoy Bentley doesn't have a senior on the roster and starts five sophomores, one of which is impressive big man Alexander Preston, who led the way for the Wave with 17 points.

"I see it as a positive," Bentley said of his young group. "I start five sophomores so it's time to build, I understand coming in that it's going to be rocky but we have to deal with that."

One of the most important aspects in that is having his players buy in, something he thinks they've shown the ability to do.

"They're only going to get better," Bentley said of his team. "I can tell they have heart, they want to learn, they want to get better and from a coaching standpoint knowing that is a great thing."

Early in the season these teams are clearly headed in opposite directions. Central is looking for a title defense and was able to overcome a two-point opening game defeat with a 40 point road victory.

Darien knows it will struggle, but facing a team like Central and seeing that success only helps the upstart Wave.

"It's something to works towards," Bentley said of the Hilltoppers success. "We've played two great teams in West Hill and Central and you can see what they have and it's where we want to be."

DARIEN (0-2)

Justin Jordan 0 1-2 1 Jackson Ryan 1 0-1 3 Alexander Preston 8 1-2 17 Carter Scott 2 0-0 6 John Zak Swetye 1 0-0 2 3 Casey Brown 3 1-4 7. Totals 15 3-9 36.

BRIDGEPORT CENTRAL (1-1)

Dyshaun Pulliam 5 0-2 12 Dondre Daniels 8 2-2 20 Quinton Ballew 1 0-0 2 Marcus Blackwell 5 1-2

12 Jonathan Hartley 4 0-0 9 Jordan Edmonds 1 0-0 2 Kaysone Washington 1 0-0 2 Charles

Richardson 0 0-2 0 Oumar Keita 3 0-0 6 Joaquim Johnson 5 0-0 11. 33 3-7 76.

DARIEN ....................................11 6 9 10--36

Bridgeport Central ................15 20 19 22--76

3-pointers: D--Ryan, Scott 2; BC--Pulliam 2, Daniels 2, Blackwell, Hartley, Johnson