By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Back on December 16, the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team played a contest against Plainville that was forgettable in every conceivable way.
The Lancers, with three starters in the line-up with 19 total minutes of varsity experience, fell to the Blue Devils in a 49-30 mauling from the Ivan Wood Gymnasium in Plainville.
In that showdown, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Eastern.
The Lancers shot a miserable 19-percent from the field, misfired on 20-of-22 three-point field goals and was out-rebounded by 12 – aided by a double-figure rebounding effort by Plainville senior Cam Lamothe.
But in the rematch on Monday, Plainville’s big man was on the bench via injury and while the Lancers had players unavailable as well, the contest ended up being an exciting back-and-forth affair.
Eastern took everything the Blue Devils could dish out, plus a whole lot more, but the Lancers were able to top Plainville – needing a little overtime along the way – as the Kingstreeters posted a 58-53 win from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
“We could have gone away very easily and I think earlier in the season, we did,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “That’s what I told the kids in the locker room. I said ‘things went wrong for us in game one [against Plainville]. And you saw us lose by nineteen against that team off one or two simple runs.’”
But this game was different and whether it was a big three from Nasir Walker-Jenkins, a blocked shot by Brayden Dauphinais, a slick dish from Lukas Sward or clutch free throw shooting by Nate Fries, Eastern answered the bell over the 36-minute war.
“You lose by 19 early in the season and then you come back and you’re able to put that type of effort in,” said Ray of the win. “We took every punch and we answered.”
How close was this showdown?
The game saw 17 lead changes and 11 ties – not exactly standard fare in a scholastic basketball game – but it was two programs battling it out in a nip-and-tuck confrontation.
“We had a lead [and then] they had the lead,” said Ray.
Those young Eastern players had a fresh look out on the court this time around against Plainville, keeping mistakes to a minimum, closing out on shooters such as Breenan Staubley (15 points) and forced the visiting aggression into 22 turnovers and 37-percent shooting from the field as the Bristol team hustled to make stops.
“They beat us to a lot of balls in that first game,” said Ray. “We talked about that. Starting four sophomores, I think they took that as ‘hey, we’ve got to get ready for this level.’ We’re a different team than we were from day one for sure.”
Walker-Jenkins spun the Blue Devils for 18 points in the team’s first encounter and did a little more of the same in the rematch as he used his speed to get around defenders and then finished at the hoop or made charity shots to keep Eastern in the mix.
He zipped in 19 points this time around and while it was a one man show at Plainville, Eastern’s reinforcements made timely contributions to snare the win.
While the trio of Dauphinais, Sward and Fries combined for just four total points on opening day for Eastern, that group of athletes added 31 points to the till on Monday – a vast improvement from the previous Plainville encounter – as Walker dished out six assists to aid that scoring surge.
“He’s our leader but he wasn’t on an island today,” said Ray of Walker. “He was a leader, he was bringing kids with him, and they were bringing [Walker] with them too. That’s what made it special.”
Jerry Tatum and Dante DePass also contributed along the way while Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum attacked the boards with zest as his 12 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass, was a major factor over the winning endeavor.
“At this point, nothing even phases me when somebody gets hurt because I’m just so used to COVID or injuries,” said Ray. “I’m just happy for the fact that enough young kids are confident enough [to contribute]. Dante DePass goes in there, Nate Fries gets a couple more minutes, Jerry Tatum [rebounds]. You’ve got guys that go in there and kind of fills those gaps when you need it.”
“Those guys are paying attention and they get reps too.”
Yes, the Lancers are still a work in progress with a 3-6 overall ledger and there’s a lot left to do as the midpoint of the season approaches with a huge battle at Conard on Thursday.
But this group is learning, understanding roles and is now playing – and winning – as a team.
“For us, it’s really about improvement from where you are on day one to where you are at the end,” said Ray. “I’m not just talking about how you play. I’m talking about physical, mental, emotional, how you feel about your teammates. We’re winning off the court as much as we’re winning on the court right now. And we’re in for tough nights, there’s no doubt about it. There’s nights where it’s going to be tough.”
“But if you saw how we played against Simsbury and Berlin, yeah, the point differential is a little bit bigger, but there’s glimpses of young kids really buying in and doing good things and moving the basketball. I couldn’t say enough about how we came together tonight.”
Bristol Eastern Boys Basketball
BRISTOL EASTERN 58, PLAINVILLE 53 (OT)
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Plainville (2-8) 9 10 13 14 7 – 53
Bristol Eastern (3-6) 7 14 12 13 12 – 58
PLAINVILLE (53): George James 4 3 11, Wieczorek 1 1 3, M.J. Bakaysa 0 0 0, Artem Mojica 5 2 13, Joe Vasques 2 7 11, Brennan Staubley 5 2 15. Totals: 17 15 53.
BRISTOL EASTERN (58): Jeremiah Tatum 0 0 0, Lukas Sward 5 0 11, Brayden Dauphinais 4 2 11, Nasir Walker-Jenkins 6 5 19, Nate Fries 2 5 9, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 1 1 3, Ben D’Amato 1 0 3, Dante DePass 0 2 2. Totals: 19 15 58.
Three-point goals: Artem Mojica (P), Brennan Staubley (P) 3, Nasir Walker-Jenkins (BE) 2, Lukas Sward (BE), Ben D’Amato (BE), Brayden Dauphinais (BE).
Records: Bristol Eastern 3-6 overall; Plainville 2-8.
