By Michael Letendre

ROCKY HILL – Once the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team settled down offensively in its Central Connecticut Conference Interdivisional showdown at Rocky Hill on Monday, the program’s defense came to the forefront.

And when the Lancers established a bit of a cushion, the Terriers never got back into the fray as Eastern roped up a 44-29 victory on the road, improving to 2-5 on the campaign.

Rocky Hill (0-7) saw its offense stall out as the Lancers – after misfiring on several 3s to open the showdown – snared 15 steals, forcing 25 turnovers overall.

And then Eastern turned those miscues into points to eventually scoop up a double-figure edge.

“We told them, like any road game, you can’t just go bombs away,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “I think our first six shots, they were all three-pointers. And I don’t care if they go in and out. They’re not in. So, once we started getting a couple easy hoops, the name of the game was defense.”

“With a young team like [Rocky Hill], the way we played on the defensive end of the court, we only gave up a hand full of points.”

The Lancers were led by Lukas Sward who had a career game for the locals.

He posted 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists while his four steals kept the Terriers’ off-balanced offensively.

Sward did a little of everything and was the catalyst of what Eastern accomplished offensively.

“He’s active and he does his thing,” said Ray of Sward. “I’m hard on him because he’s the point guard and the point guard always has to hear it the most. His defensive effort, even at the end when we were able to spring the trap and get that big spurt to just really break their back, Lukas gave [supreme] effort. He was exhausted after the game and that’s what you want to see. You want to see a guy real tired and that meant he’s working hard.”

“He had to handle the ball today all throughout the first half, he had to dig in to guard the point guards [and] he earned his money today.”

Eastern welcomed back Brayden Dauphinais to the line-up – missing time due to illness – and was nearly unstoppable in one-on-one situations.

Offsetting the loss of Elijah Borgelin and Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum, Dauphinais posted 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a couple steals over a huge effort.

“Offensively, once we established Dauph a little bit, I think that really helped,” said Ray of Dauphinais. “Having him back is a big bonus. Without Borgelin and Bynum out there today, he had to really step up.”

Ben D’Amato made the start Eastern, dropping in eight points while Nate Fries added a career-high seven steals to go along with five points and three rebounds.

Off the bench, Nasir Walker-Jenkins nabbed four points, two rebounds, and two steals, Preston Guarda added a rebound while Zaveyn Tate blocked his first varsity shot.

And after a standout JV game, Ray called Dante DePass’s number and the freshman produced.

In twenty minutes off the pine, DePass dropped in two points, four rebounds, and played excellent positional defense. 

“When you’re in practice and you’re looking around for guys, I always say ‘there’s spots out there,’” said Ray. “And he opens my eyes because he’s fearless. He goes out there [and] I don’t think he knows any better. I don’t even think he knows where he is. I think he’s out there and once he learns the nuances of the game, he’s going to be even better. He has a knack for the hoop, he loves to play, and he’s just a great kid.”

“When you have a competitive kid that can make shots, you’ve got to find time for him.”  

Jayden Osei-Tutu led Rocky Hill with 16 points – notching over half his squad’s offense but the rest of the team could not get on track.

The Lancers forced the Terriers into 1-of-9 shooting for the field over the first eight minutes of play but Eastern’s offense stumbled as well – turning in a 5-5 game through one period.

A D’Amato three-ball gave Eastern an early lead in the second stanza but an 8-2 burst by Rocky Hill made it a 13-10 game in the Terriers favor with 3:10 remaining in the half.

Eastern ended the frame on an 11-0 run as Dauphinais attacked the hoop with zest – scoring three quick baskets – as Eastern led it 21-13 at intermission.

Midway through the third tilt, Rocky Hill had the deficit down to seven at 25-18 from a lay-up by Osei-Tutu.

But Eastern chugged up nine straight points – highlighted by a D’Amato 3 and a steal and lay-up from Walker-Jenkins – as the Lancers etched up a 34-18 cushion with 1:25 left in the period.

It was just a 34-24 game early in the fourth frame but Eastern drained 10 straight points to put the event away.

Walker hit two free throws and then made a loud rejection on the flip side before Sward canned three straight Eastern hoops and when Dauphinais banked in one final shot, the Lancers led by twenty (44-24) with 2:03 remaining – seizing a 15-point win in the end.

“For us, all the young guys stepping in with the ball snapping around, it was fun to watch a bunch of young kids play out there,” said Ray.  

BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL

BRISTOL EASTERN 44, ROCKY HILL 29

from Rocky Hill high school

Bristol Eastern (2-5) 5 16 13 10 – 44

Rocky Hill (0-6) 5 8 9 7 – 29

BRISTOL EASTERN (44): Nate Fries 2 0 5, Lukas Sward 7 0 15, Nasir Walker-Jenkins 1 2 4, Ben D’Amato 3 0 8, Jeremiah Tatum 0 0 0, Preston Guarda 0 0 0, Dante DePass 1 0 2, Brayden Dauphinais 5 0 10, Zaveyn Tate 0 0 0. Totals: 19 2 44.

ROCKY HILL (29): Jayden Osei-Tutu 8 0 16, Casey Robinson 1 0 2, Yazdan Aftab 2 1 6, Luke Castanho 1 0 3, Tyler Carlstrom 1 0 2. Totals; 12 3 29.

Three-point goals: Ben D’Amato (BE) 2, Lukas Sward (BE), Nate Fries (BE),Yazdan Aftab (RH), Luke Castanho (RH).

Records: Bristol Eastern 2-5 overall; Rocky Hill 0-7