Tambling puts Cougars over the top against Massasoit

MANCHESTER, CT – The fans at the Great Path Academy Gym Saturday afternoon were entertained to an exciting basketball game between a pair of undefeated Region 21 rivals.

It’s safe to say none of the coaches on either side of the scorer’s table were as entertained, particularly MCC’s Head Coach Robert Turner,Jr.

“It was a little too close for comfort,” Turner said. “We aren’t used playing close games.”

Callie Tambling of Manchester made both ends of a one and one with the Cougars trailing by a point as MCC (4-0) hung on for a 57-53 victory over Massasoit CC.

Tambling scored just seven points on the day, but the clutch free throws swooshed through the hoop with her team trailing 53-52 and 1:09 remaining in regulation. Tambling added a field goal with 31 seconds left, essentially putting the game out of reach for the visitors and keeping MCC’s perfect record intact.

“Callie comes from Manchester High School and they usually put out some really good players,” Turner said. “And being in tough, close games is nothing for her. She has always made big shots in games.”

Previously unbeaten Massasoit (3-1) trailed by ten points at one point in the first half, but battled back and took a 53-52 lead on a Kelsey Craveiro basket with 1:33 left. The Lady Warriors were paced by Gabby Jones who led all scorers with 15 points.

“We needed a game like this,” Turner said. “We need to work on our mental toughness. It seems like we got down a little during the game.”

Shenielle Duncan-Clarke (Bloomfield) was in foul trouble from early on, but was still able to put up a team-high 14 points. Kassiana Goodman (Waterbury) had 10 points and 16 rebounds and team captain Erika Murphy (Torrington) had 10 points and for the Cougars. Jaslynn Canino (East Hartford) had 10 rebounds for MCC.

“It was great seeing some of the players come off the bench to step up and make some good plays,” Turner said. “There was a lot of good that came out of this game, but there are a lot of things we need to work on.” Tyra Brooks (Waterbury) filled in nicely for Duncan-Clarke while Mykal Mitchell (Windsor) and Rebeca Van Guilder (Hartford) were strong in supporting roles.

MCC struggled on the floor (20 for 73) and did not fare much better from the free throw line (10 for 20).

“You’ve got to take your hat off to the coach (Sal Pina) and that team because they played hard,” Turner said of Massaoit. “They called the timeouts like they are supposed to, regrouped and came back harder every time, so you’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

The Cougars are off through Thanksgiving and resume play at 6 PM on Tuesday December 1st when they host Springfield Tech at Great Path Academy Gym on the MCC campus.