Harding rallies to topple Central

BRIDGEPORT -- His team saddled with injuries, Central coach Barry McLeod is trying to keep this season from spinning out of control.

That task is growing more difficult for the Hilltoppers, who watched a 17-point halftime lead disintegrate in a 67-62 loss to rival Harding Friday on their home floor.

"We're in a tough spot here. We are down body-wise," said McLeod, handcuffed by a four-man bench. "I've never had this type of thing happen to me."

"Dondre (Daniels) played hurt; the back of his hand is hurt. (Dyshaun) Pulliam was out with a sprained ankle, and (Oumar) Keita is out with torn ligaments."

Conversely, 11 players scored for Harding (5-3), who ran past the Hilltoppers 46-24 in the second half.

"It reinforces what I've been teaching and preaching," Harding coach Charles Clemons said of the comeback. "Our core values are `attack, make the extra pass, and play with a chip on your shoulder.'"

Guard Zach Stewart took those values to heart, draining three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Stewart finished with 12 points, and guard TJ Killings scored 21 points to lead all players.

"I've been having a rough season this year, but I guess this game was my breakout game," Stewart said. "I'm going to take this game and keep going."

Stewart drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions midway through the fourth quarter to give Harding its largest lead, 57-47. Central (5-3) got as close as two points down the stretch, but it came up empty too many times.

After leading 38-21 at halftime, the Hilltoppers began to unravel in the third. They hit only one field goal during a five-minute stretch, and they allowed Harding -- which outscored the Hilltoppers 23-6 in the third -- to take its first lead since the game's opening minutes.

The offensive inefficiency left McLeod shaking his head.

"We didn't score at the end of the third quarter," McLeod said. "They beat us in the third quarter. We just did a number of things wrong.

"It was ridiculous."

Center Fitzroy Henry, who missed time earlier this year with the flu, led Central with 18 points.Marcus Blackwell had 15 points, and Daniels scored 13.

The defending FCIAC and Class LL champions will look to snap their two-game skid Monday against New Haven powerhouse Hillhouse (6-1) in the Martin Luther King Classic at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena. They'll tip off at 6 p.m., and Harding will take on Wilbur Cross in the same event at 2 p.m.

At this point, McLeod is simply hoping for some improved luck.

"We had three starters we were missing tonight," he said.

Against Harding, Central led 19-14 after one quarter and by as many as 17 points in the second thanks to 17-3 run.

dbonjour@ctpost.com; twitter.com/DougBonjour

HARDING (5-3)

TJ Killings 6 9-15 21 Zach Stewart 4 1-3 12 Taisun Phommachanh 4 3-6 11 Okoe Nash 0 1-2 1 Keon Evans 2 0-1 4 Tavari Davis 0 0-0 0 Marquis Davis 1 3-3 5 Eric Moore 0 1-2 1 Calvin Seward 2 0-2 4 Justin Sheffield 0 2-2 2 Tremaine Pettway 2 0-0 4 Will Figueroa 0 0-0 0 Ramir Johnson 0 0-0 0 Johniel Morales 0 0-0 0 Anthony Gadsden 0 2-4 2. Totals 21 22-40 67.

CENTRAL (5-3)

Quinton Ballew 3 2-5 8 Marcus Blackwell 4 6-8 15 Dondre Daniels 4 4-6 13 Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Joaquim Johnson 3 0-0 6 Charles Richardson 1 0-7 2 Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0 Fitzroy Henry 6 6-6 18. Totals 21 18-32 62.

HARDING.............................. 14 7 23 23 -- 67

CENTRAL.............................. 19 19 6 18 -- 62

3-pointers: H -- Stewart 3; C --Daniels, Blackwell. Technical fouls: C -- Henry.

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

Central falls to Stamford

Central falls to Stamford

Doug Bonjour

 December 17, 2014

Last year, Central had so many seasoned veterans that coach Barry McLeod rarely

had to worry about where his scoring was coming from.

But in the Hilltoppers' season­opener against Stamford on Tuesday, there weren't nearly enough

options on offense. It ended up costing them, too.

Three players scored in double figures for the Black Knights, who pulled away in the fourth quarter to

beat the defending FCIAC and Class LL champions 58­-56.

"We haven't won in this building in a long time," Black Knights coach Danny Melzer said. "It's a very

tough place to play."

Kweshon Askew's breakaway layup put Stamford (1­0) up 52­50 with three minutes left. He finished

with 12 points, while Gianni Carwin had 17 points and James Gronberg scored 14.

Forward Marcus Blackwell, who is the Hilltoppers' lone returning starter off last year's 27­1 team,

finished with a game­high 22 points. Dyshuan Pulliam contributed 18 points, but the Hilltoppers

didn't get close to enough help from the rest of a young roster.

"We've got to find some guards that can apply pressure," McLeod said. "The freshmen, sophomores,

juniors or seniors, I think we're going to find them somewhere. We're going to have to have tryouts.

"Everything we do predicates on pressure."

Central didn't apply it consistently, especially on the offensive end. Up as many as eight points in the

first half, Central fell behind for the first time, 32­-31, early in the third quarter.

"We've got to get away from the things we did tonight," McLeod said.

A 3­point play by Blackwell pulled Central within 54­53 late in the fourth quarter, but Stamford

didn't relinquish the lead. The Black Knights grabbed two offensive rebounds on the next possession ­

the first coming on a missed free throw by Carwin on the front end of an and­ 1.

"We got just enough stops to win," Melzer said.

The Black Knights were energized by the win, especially after losing both meetings against Central

last season by scores of 74­53 and 66­47 in the FCIAC semifinals.

"They're not the most talented Central team that we've seen, but they're going to be decent this year,"

Askew said. "We owed these guys, too. They came to our house last year and beat us, and we owedthem this. It feels great."

Central led 15-­9 after the first quarter and 25-­17 midway through the second before Stamford went

on a 7­0 run. The Hilltoppers led 29­-26 at the break thanks to a late basket by Jonathan Hartley.

Dondre Daniels, who played key minutes on last year's Central squad, chipped in seven points.

Stamford 58, Central 56

STAMFORD (1­0)

Kweshon Askew 5 2­2 12 Rich Benoit 1 0­0 2 Gianni Carwin 6 3­7 17 John Cascio 0 0­0 0 Malik

Clayborne 0 0­0 0 Dwight Depina 2 3­6 7 Whens Desther 0 0­0 0 Billy Devito 0 0­0 0 Jay Devito 2 0­

0 6 James Gronberg 5 3­6 14 Steffan Harding 0 0­0 0 Clerstevens Joseph 0 0­0 0 Yancarlos Marte 0

0­0 0. Totals 21 11­21 58.

CENTRAL (0­1)

Quinton Ballew 0 0­0 0 Marcus Blackwell 10 1­2 22 Dondre Daniels 2 2­2 7 Jordan Edmonds 0 0­0 0

Jonathan Hartley 2 0­0 5 Joaquim Johnson 0 0­0 0 Oumar Keita 1 0­2 2 Dyshaun Pulliam 8 1­1 18

Charles Richardson 1 0­0 2 Kayshone Washington 0 0­0 0. Totals 24 4­7 56.

STAMFORD 9 17 15 17 ­­ 58

CENTRAL 15 14 12 15 ­­ 56

3­pointers: S ­­ Carwin 2, J. Devito 2, Gronberg; C ­­ Blackwell, Daniels, Hartley, Pulliam.

Central beats Weston

By BOB BIRGE
Hour Correspondent
January 8, 2015

WESTON ­­ The Weston boys basketball team gave defending Class LL state champion Bridgeport Central a major scare Thursday, building a 10­ point halftime lead.

The Trojans, however, could not sustain that effort following the intermission.

The result was a 19 ­point turnaround in the second half as the Hilltoppers stormed back for a 61- ­52 victory.

Nik Parker and Matt Folger paced Weston (5­2) with 15 and 13 points, respectively, but they were quiet in the second half.

"It's simple," Weston coach Mike Hvizdo said. "We played a very good first half and we played a very weak second half. You can't beat good teams not playing a solid four quarters. "

The Trojans' hopes for a late comeback suffered a critical blow when Folger picked up his fifth personal on an offensive foul call 3:33 remaining.

Hvizdo was hit with a technical for arguing the call and Dyshaun Pulliam hit the two free throws to give Central (4­1) a 51­-44 lead.

Pulliam, who scored 16 points, converted 7­of ­9 foul shots in the fourth quarter to help the Hilltoppers put away the victory.

After three games against FCIAC opponents ­­ and four overall ­­ the Trojans are ready for SouthWest Conference play, which begins on Tuesday at Notre Dame of Fairfield.

"They're a good team," Central coach Barry McLeod said. "I saw them play against Stamford (a 64­- 58 loss in the Kuczo tournament) They had a legimate chance to beat Stamford. I was aware they could play. I knew it was going to be a tough game."

Dondre Daniels led Central with 18 points while Marcus Blackwell also chipped in with 16, giving the Hilltoppers a three ­pronged attack.

"We have to play four quarters," Folger said. "We were up 10 at halftime (36­-26) and they ended up beating us by nine. The main thing is we have to play all quarters and play with heart."

With both shooting well in the first quarter ­­ Weston was 7­of­ 11 and Central 7 ­of­ 14 ­­ the contest got off to a fast start as the teams went back and forth.

After six lead changes, Matt Gurman drilled a 3­pointer just before the buzzer to give Weston a 16-­15 lead after after one.

The Trojans began to extend their lead in the second quarter, opening a 31-­20 advantage on Zach Clevenger's deep 3­pointer with 2:58 left in the first half.

McLeod insisted there was nothing unusual about his halftime speech, but the Hilltoppers were a different team in the third quarter.

Their halfcourt trap turned around the game as they outscored Weston 19­3 in the third period and 35­16 overall in the second half.

The Hilltoppers held Weston to one field in the third quarter and just four over the final 16 minutes. "Their big guy (Folger) had foul trouble throughout the game so he wasn't himself, but that's part of the game," McLeod said

"That's been my problem these past couple games," Folger added. "I've had four fouls in the fourth quarter. It's hard."

Clevenger's 3­pointer gave the Trojans a 39­-34 lead with 4:43 left in the third quarter and briefly slowed Central's momentum but the Trojans were blanked for the remainder of the period.

The score stayed at 39­38 for nearly three minutes as Central missed five changes to go ahead, but Pulliam's two free throws finally gave the Hilltoppers the lead at 41-­39 with 1:27 left in the third. "They definitely turned (the defense) up," Hvizdo said. "They're a very experienced program.

"They turned it up and that's why they won. It did get to us, but it's not like we haven't seen it before. We saw it against Westhill (a 51­-50 win) and Stamford. That's what upset me ­­ we've seen it before and we've conquered it."

Weston didn't score from the field in the fourth quarter until Gurman's driving layup with 1:38 remaining.

The Trojans' scoring drought lasted for seven minutes until Hamilton Forsythe hit two free throw with 5:42 remaining.

But the Trojans stayed in the game on the defense end and another two free throws by Hamilton Forsythe pulled the Trojans within 47-­44 with 4:31 remaining.

However, they missed Folger's presence in the middle in the final three minutes.

"We need our best player on the court," Hvizdo said. "If he's not out there, it makes it tough. We need other guys to step up and tonight no one else stepped up."

Central defeats Greenwich 63 - ­59

Connecticut Post
David Fierro

 January 6, 2015

GREENWICH -- Though it was an early-season game and both team's rosters were dramatically different, Tuesday night's matchup between Bridgeport Central and Greenwich nearly featured the intensity and drama of last winter's FCIAC final.

Holding a nine-point lead late in the third quarter, the scene was set for the Cardinals to surprise the Hilltoppers and earn their first FCIAC win of the season. Yet Central closed the third stanza with a flurry, opening the door for it to escape Greenwich High with a much-needed victory.

Ending the third quarter with a pivotal 8-0 run, then forcing several key turnovers in the fourth quarter, defending FCIAC and state champion Central edged Greenwich, 63-59, in a rematch of last season's conference final.

Senior guard Dyshaun Pulliam scored a game-high 22 points, while senior forward Marcus Blackwell added 14 points for 4-1 Central. The visitors had trouble on the foul line, making just 14 of 33 free throws, and also had their share of turnovers.

"We missed 19 foul shots, which is terrible," Central coach Barry McLeod said. "Tonight, we also missed three or four point-blank layups and had some turnovers. If we made half of those foul shots, it could have been different. But give credit to Greenwich, they played with a lot of intensity and played well enough to win."

Senior forward Griffin Golden scored a team-high 16 points for the Cardinals, who trailed 33-32 at halftime, before seizing a nine-point, third-quarter advantage.

"We still have a few guys banged up, but with our team, it's next guy up and tonight several players stepped up for us," GHS coach Patrick Heaton said. "Tonight, we hurt ourself with our mistakes."

Pulliam's long 3-pointer from the right side gave the Hilltoppers the lead for good at 57-54 with 4:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals closed to within 58-56 on junior guard Mike Gianopoulos' layup off a steal from junior guard Joey Lanni and cut Central's edge to 60-59 when junior Henry Golden (9 points) nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds to go. But Pulliam made a pair of foul shots and Omar Keita sank one during the final seconds to seal the Hilltoppers' triumph.

Conor Harkins' baseline jumper, Gianopoulos' layup and Griffin Golden's short jump shot capped a 10-0 GHS run, giving it a 44-37 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Trailing 48-39, Central stepped up the pressure on its man-to-man press, hit the backboards hard and cut Greenwich's lead to 48-47 going into the final quarter. Daniels' layup off a steal created by the press and Pulliam's putback at the buzzer made it a one-point game.

"If they kept that lead they had going into the fourth quarter and made a couple of more baskets, I don't think we would be able to catch them," McLeod said. "That was the biggest part of the game. It really turned things around for us and gave us some momentum."

Said Heaton: "It went from us having an eight or 10 point lead to being up by just one very quickly. That was huge, but we still came out and gave a great effort in the fourth quarter."

Back-to-back layups from Daniels gave Central an 18-12 edge heading into the second quarter, but GHS handled the Hilltoppers' press well in the second quarter, enabling it to score points in transition.

"We knew they were going to press us a lot, so we played a lot of guards and guys who can handle the ball," Henry Golden said. "Tonight, we did pretty well against their 2-2-1 press, but had a little trouble with their man-to-man press."

Kieran Carroll's putback gave Greenwich its first lead of the second quarter at 29-28, but Fitzroy Henry's layup put Central up at the half by two.

"Greenwich came up with some big rebounds and were able to break us down a few times with their offense," said McLeod, whose team only had eight players available Tuesday. "We had a couple of guys home sick and I know Greenwich is missing some players too, so we were both shorthanded a little bit. Right now, we're a team that's learning and improving."

Gianopoulos added 12 points, while Harkins had 10 for the Cardinals.

"This is a game that we can build off," Griffin Golden said. "We have Westhill Friday, which is going to be a big test for us, so hopefully this game will give us some momentum going into Friday."

david.fierro@scni.com; 203-625-3323

CENTRAL (4-1)

Dyshaun Pulliam 8 6-9 22 Dondre Daniels 4 4-7 12 Marcus Blackwell 6 2-19 14 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Kayshan Washington 1 0-0 2 Omar Keita 2 1-2 5 Joaquin Johnson 2 0-2 4Fitzroy Henry 1 1-4 3 Totals: 24 14-33 63.

GREENWICH (1-5)

Addison Yost 0 0-0 0 Henry Golden 4 0-0 9 Kieran Carroll 2 1-2 5 Griffin Golden 6 3-4 16 Conor Harkins 4 0-0 10 Mike Gianopoulos 5 2-4 12 Joey Lanni 0 0-2 0 Connor Langan 2 1-2 5 Alex Tannenbaum 0 1-2 1 Kevin Woodring 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-16 59.

BRIDGEPORT CENTRAL 18 15 14 16 -- 63

GREENWICH 12 20 16 11 -- 59