By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team, struck in COVID protocol for two weeks, finally got a chance to compete on the hardwood Tuesday night but took on a determined Lewis Mills squad.
The Spartans opened the game up with three, three-point plays and Eastern was in catch-up mode the rest of the way, falling by a 64-38 final in a CCC Region B bout from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
Mills (3-8) hit a blistering 56-percent of its shots from the field, canned nine 3-pointers, and took advantage of Eastern (2-5) inside by finishing at the hoop.
“I’m just really proud of the way the boys went out and played tonight,” said coach Ryan Raponey who, once again, was stuck in COVID protocol. “I’m proud of my coaching staff for going out there and being able to execute the game plan. We’ve had some tough offensive nights the past couple weeks where it was difficult to score in some games and I thought we really moved the ball. I thought we took opportunities to get to the basket when they we there. I thought we made the good decisions to kick the ball out when those were there.”
“And when we went to finish, we used proper footwork and jump-stops and went up strong and didn’t fade from contact tonight.”
Every time Eastern put together a small run, Mills answered with several hoops as the Lancers could never make a game of it.
“Defensively, I thought we could have done a better job with getting in the way a little bit, knowing our drops,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “We tried to throw some different defenses at them just to give them a different look but they were able to move the ball effectively and get great shots.”
Brice Waldron led all players with 17 points, Tommy Martinotti added 13, while Drew Cormier splashed in 10 as the Spartans displayed offensive balance throughout the line-up.
Eastern did not have a double-figure scorer but Trini Otero scored nine points and added four rebounds while reserve Axel Fernandez played extremely well.
He scored a season-high seven points, draining both three-pointers he took and was a hustler on defense.
“In the open floor, you can see his skill set,” said Ray of Fernandez. “When it’s an execution game, sometimes he struggles a little bit but in the open floor, you can see how special a player he could have been throughout the season. Some of the things would have been a process to get here but none-the-less, I’m happy to have him. I’m so proud of the fact that he’s out here every day competing. He’s a great kid.”
Elijah Parent (seven points, six assists) made a little Eastern history as his only three-pointer of the game gave him 117 for his career – tying the all-time school record along with Daron McKoy.
Jack Stavens notched five points, Josh Kolano had five rebounds, Nasir Walker-Jenkins and Trevor Nohilly added points to the tally while Brayden Dauphinais hit two free throws for his first varsity points.
Eastern was without the services of Dylan Woodsome but the senior will be back in the starting line-up in the next contest against New Britain.
“It will be nice to get Woody back,” said Ray of Woodsome. “You’re playing some younger kids out there which was good to do but [Woodsome] is a senior captain and he makes a little bit of a difference in terms of stability as well.”
Mills ran out to a 11-2 lead four-and-a-half minutes into the game before Eastern’s offense started showing a little life.
Otero and Parent hit consecutive jumpers towards the end of the first frame to chop the deficit to 16-8 with nine seconds to go but Jon Schibi (six points) drained a deep 3 at the buzzer to make it a double-figure game again (19-8) through one quarter.
Eastern was hanging around to open the second stanza as Otero made a spin move for a bucket and when Parent hit his 117th career three-pointer with 5:57 remaining before the half, the home team was in the mix – trailing 19-13.
But the Spartans did not allow Eastern to score again in the period as the visitors scored 14 straight points – getting two big 3s from Nate DiChiara – as Mills secured a 33-13 push at the break.
“It starts on the defensive end,” said Raponey. “When you set out to make a team’s night a little more difficult than usual to score and you execute by being in the right places, making the right play [works]. You can’t take away everything so you can allow a few things here and there. And Eastern was able to take advantage of a couple of those for baskets early on but you’re trying to take away the strengths of the other team and I thought that the players were able to do that this evening.”
The Lancers tried to get back in it early in the third frame as Otero hit two straight hoops, his last a three-pointer with 6:24 remaining to chop the deficit to 35-18.
This time, an 11-2 burst did-in the Kingstreeters as two strong hoops from Waldron and a lay-up by Cormier made it a 46-20 game with one period to go.
“I was a little disappointed in the way we dropped and the way we executed our defensive game plan,” said Ray. “We had a day to prepare and you’re trying to change some things. They’re a bad match-up for us with all the guards that they have. So we’re trying to throw in some different zones, we’re trying to do some different things but it just didn’t work out.”
Eastern’s got its offense going in the fourth frame as Stavens canned a 3 while Fernandez hit his two trifectas over a stretch of 1:40 but with 4:00 remaining in the game, Mills was still on top, 57-33.
“Eastern was in a tough position,” said Raponey. “They have not been able to play a basketball game for two weeks. Knowing that going in, you’re stressing on the team to not let [Eastern] get into a flow and to make it difficult for them to get into game flow, I think that was important tonight for our guys out on the court.”
And the Lancers never got any closer the rest of the way as Eastern absorbed a tough 64-38 loss.
“There’s no excuse for what we do out here,” said Ray. “We got dealt a bad hand. We just have to play through it. I can’t go into the gym and say it’s okay when you’re playing like that. But, at the same time, I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort physically. Mentally, I think we need to do a better job. Mentally, as tired as you are, you can still execute a little bit more. I thought we could have slowed the game down a little bit and ran our stuff a little bit [more].”
It was the first contest of a four-game week and the Lancers are hoping for better results as the week progresses with the next showdown coming on Thursday against New Britain.
“Every opponent is different [and Mills] is just a bad match-up,” said Ray. “At the same time, credit them. They did what they had to do. I just don’t want to limp through the week. I hope we get better as we get going and I think we will. I think this senior group wants to play better.”
CCC Region B boys basketball
LEWIS MILLS 64, BRISTOL EASTERN 38
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Lewis Mills 19 14 13 18 – 64
Bristol Eastern 8 5 7 18 – 38
Lewis Mills (3-8): Nate DiChiara 2 0 6, Tommy Martinotti 5 1 13, Jacob Lomnicky 0 0 0, Colby Cables 3 0 7, Drew Cormier 5 0 10, Brice Waldron 6 4 17, Logan Cowger 1 0 3, Jon Schibi 2 0 6, David Owens 1 0 2. Totals: 25 5 64.
Bristol Eastern (2-5): Elijah Parent 3 0 7, Josh Kolano 0 0 0, Trevor Nohilly 1 0 2, Axel Fernandez 2 1 7, Trini Otero 4 0 9, Jack Stavens 2 0 5, Tyler Donohue 2 0 4, Brayden Dauphinais 0 2 2, Nasir Walker 0 2 2. Totals: 14 5 38.
Three-point goals: LM—DiChiara 2, Martinotti 2, Schibi 2, Cables 1, Waldron 1, Cowger 1. BE—Fernandez 2, Parent 1, Otero 1, Stavens 1.
Records: Lewis Mills 3-8; Bristol Eastern 2-5
