Manchester built Ford tough
Dec. 16—Quentin Ford and his teammates on the Manchester High boys basketball team knew the opportunity they had in front of them in their season opener Thursday.
The Red Hawks were matched up against reigning Division II state champ Bristol Central on the road.
The junior took advantage of the opportunity.
Ford scored 14 points as the Red Hawks opened the season with a 68-34 CCC interdivisional win over the Rams in Bristol.
The win snaps Bristol Central's 43-game winning streak dating back to an 85-48 loss to East Catholic quarterfinals of the 2020 CCC tournament.
The Rams (0-1) entered the season receiving votes in the GameTimeCT/New Haven Register preseason state media poll.
Manchester (1-0) led 9-6 after a quarter before opening the game up in the second by outscoring Bristol Central 20-9. The Red Hawks increased the lead to 49-23 after three quarters.
Eight of Ford's points came in the second quarter. The junior made three 3s in the game. Teammate Derrick Sheets added 13 points while Jared Lindstrom had 11 rebounds and Jayveon Robinson contributed 10 steals.
Carmelo Thompson paced the Rams with 13 points.
Manchester is back in action tonight when it entertains cross-town rival Cheney Tech.
RHAM 65, EAST HARTFORD 54. Junior Troy Miller recorded a game-high 20 points to lead the visiting Raptors to a CCC East win to open the season.
RHAM (1-0) led 14-6 after a quarter before stretching the lead to 34-21 at the half. The Raptors increased their edge to 50-32 entering the fourth.
Three of Miller's six field goals came from behind the arc. Roan Trzaskos added 19 points in the victory. Dom Laduca paced the Hornets (0-1) with 12 points while Elijah Serrano had 10.
RHAM returns to the court today when it entertains Coventry while East Hartford is off until Monday when it travels to Manchester.
EAST CATHOLIC 98, MIDDLETOWN 61. Rob Elliott poured in 21 points to lead the Eagles to a CCC interdivsional win in Manchester.
East Catholic (1-0), which was rankned No. 1 in the GameTimeCT/New Haven Register preseason state media poll, led 17-10 after a quarter.
The hosts then outscored the Blue Dragons (0-1) 35-17 in the second quarter before taking an 80-42 lead into the fourth.
James Jones added 19 points in the win, including 10 in the second quarter. Samson Reilly contributed 16 points while Preston Fowler had 10. Nasir McDaniel-Cade led Middletown with 13 points.
East Catholic returns to the court Saturday when it plays Avon at the GHPA High School Classic at Trinity College in Hartford.
NEW BRITAIN 91, TOLLAND 43. In New Britain, Demari Johnson paced four players in double figures with 19 points as the host Hurricanes coasted to a CCC interdivisional season-opening victory.
New Britain led 25-9 after one quarter and by 52-19 at the break as Jackson Forte scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half.
Tolland received 13 points from Cameron Lumia, 11 from Mitchell Enman, and eight from Matthew Tygor.
Tolland hosts reigning Division II champion Bristol Central Monday.
MALONEY 69, ENFIELD 62 (OT). In Meriden, Justice Hanna scored 22 points and Maloney rallied from a seven-point third-quarter deficit to beat Enfield in overtime in CCC interdivisional season-opening action.
The Eagles are at Classical Magnet on Saturday.
ELLINGTON 67, ROCKVILLE 55. In Ellington, Elijah Miller had 18 points and Darren Zahner added 17 as the host Knights recorded a season-opening NCCC win.
Cody Murphy chipped in 12 points for Ellington, which used a 12-4 second-quarter run to lead 28-17 at halftime. Eric Montez (24) and Weston LaBrecque (20) combined for 44 of Rockville's points.
Today, Ellington takes on Suffield while Rockville visits Granby.
SUFFIELD 57, GRANBY 27. Michael Coggins and Quinn Lynam each scored 16 points to give the Wildcats a NCCC win in Suffield.
It was the first win as Suffield coach for Mike Barile.
The Wildcats (1-0) built a 16-3 lead on the Bears (0-1) after a quarter before taking a 28-8 advantage into the half.
Granby, last year's Division IV state tournament runner-up, entered the game receiving votes in the GameTimeCT/New Haven Register preseason state media poll.
Nick Sattan added 10 points for Suffield, which plays Ellington at Rockville High tonight. Juan Subiza led Granby with 12 points.
COVENTRY 52, NORWICH TECH 32. In Coventry, Nate Cordner posted a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) to pace the host Patriots to a season-opening non-league victory.
Aiden Jeamel (7) and Cordner (6) combined for 13 points in a second-quarter surge that gave Coventry a 30-15 at halftime. Jeamel finished with 14 points while Wyatt Wendry chipped in eight.
The Patriots host RHAM today.
State preseason poll
The GameTimeCT/New Haven Register preseason boys basketball poll. First-place votes in parentheses. Points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.
2022 Record Points
1. East Catholic (11) 20-6 552
2. ND-West Haven (7) 25-2 532
3. NW Catholic (1) 25-3 502
4. Windsor 20-5 402
5. Kolbe Cathedral 22-4 265
6. Wilbur Cross 14-10 248
7. Fairfield Prep 22-4 242
(tie) ND-Fairfield 18-7 242
9. St. Bernard 20-5 240
10. Daniel Hand 23-4 233
Also receiving votes: Bloomfield (21-5) 170; Ridgefield (22-3) 170; Conard (22-4) 163; Danbury (13-10) 123; Hillhouse (15-9) 107; Wilton (21-5) 106; Holy Cross (17-6) 92; Windham (21-7) 67; Cromwell (24-2) 62; Bristol Central (28-0) 49; SMSA (22-5) 49; NFA (17-5) 39; New London (15-9) 36; Waterford (19-7) 30; WCA (15-9) 28; Granby (21-6) 24; East Lyme (16-9) 14; Kennedy (21-5) 12; Prince Tech (17-7) Staples (16-7) 10; St. Joseph (15-8) 10; Achievement First (18-8) 9; Platt (13-10) 7.
The following voted: Paul Augeri, Middletown Press; Adam Betz, Journal Inquirer of Manchester; Mike DiMauro, The Day of New London; Scott Ericson, Stamford Advocate; Matt Finkel, WVIT-30; Mark Jaffee, Waterbury Republican-American; Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp.; Sean Krofssik, Record-Journal of Meriden; Mike Madera, GameTimeCT; Joe Morelli, New Haven Register; Dave Phillips, Shore Line Newspapers; John Pierson, WTNH-8; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant; Dave Ruden, The Ruden Report; Chris Saunders, WATR-AM; Ben Talbott, Bird's Eye Sports; Richard Zalusky, The Chronicle of Willimantic; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Joe Zone, WFSB-3.
