By Michael Letendre
WEST HARTFORD – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team was unable to slow down an extremely talented Conard squad – dropping a tough 81-41 decision in a CCC Interdivisional tilt from West Hartford on Wednesday.
The Chieftains (13-2) turned an early 5-4 lead into 24-point edge late in the first quarter as a 23-0 burst knocked the Lancers (3-12) out of contention.
“We’ve played a lot of good teams this year. I’ll put that team right up there with all of them,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “Yeah, we’ve had turnovers but not had to pay like that. That team and that [Riley] Fox kid, he’s special.”
“That kid is young too.”
Fox was simply tremendous, flashing in all 30 of his points over the first half as the home team cashed in on 14 of its first 20 field goal attempts.
The win pushed the Chieftains to fourth place in the CIAC Division II playoff rankings, but Eastern’s young crew never gave in despite trailing by 53 points through three.
Brayden Dauphinais led Eastern with 14 points while snaring three rebounds, Lukas Sward hustled for his eight points, two rebounds, and three steals, Nate Fries came off the pine for seven points while Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum collected four points and a team-high six rebounds to lead the Lancers.
“They never quit on me,” said Ray of his squad. “There was some frustration in the beginning of the game. I think the guys were a little shell-shocked.”
Jerry Tatum, the lone senior on the floor for Eastern (senior Elijah Borgelin is currently injured) zipped up two points, four rebounds, and a team-high four assists as he did a good job on both sides of the ball when the pressure was at its highest.
“I’ll give Jerry Tatum the most credit out there,” said Ray. “I thought he did a great job of settling down and being a leader out there. He showed some frustration in the beginning of game and he was able to settle down. That shows a lot of maturity. Little victories like that you don’t see on the scoreboard or on the scoresheet. He really played well.”
Conard nailed 10 threes along the way as Jalen Hamblin (14 points), Kyle Barnum (11) and Jaydon Schuler (10) all played well around Fox even as Eastern attempted to make a game of it early.
Tatum found Lawrence-Bynum for a quick hoop and when Dauphinais cashed in a steal for a basket, Eastern trailed just 5-4 with 5:38 showing on the clock in the first tilt.
Then Fox and company went wild, turning defense into offense and the sophomore forward tallied 16 of his 19 first quarter points over that 23-point explosion as a dunk by the game’s leading scorer with 1:03 left made it a 28-4 contest.
Eastern’s Zaveyan Tate scored a 3 late but the Kingstreeters entered the second period trailing 34-7.
The Chieftains went on a 14-2 jaunt to open the second quarter as the home team led 48-9 with 4:22 remaining before the half.
“There wasn’t a match-up out there that was favorable,” said Ray. “You can’t play them in zone. You just go out there and do the best you can. Across the board, that’s just a big athletic team. If they start knocking down threes like that, it makes it even worse. And then their secondary guys started feeling it.”
“That’s a tough match-up….that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Eastern’s Dante DePass hit a 3 and Sward canned a jumper late in the second but when Fox connected on one final trifecta, it was his 30th point as Eastern was down 59-14 at the break.
Dauphinais’s floater and a charity toss from Fries was all the offense the Lancers could muster in the third tilt and with eight minutes to go, Conard was on top 70-17.
The Lancers put together a solid effort in the fourth frame, posting 24 points, as Dauphinais started the quarter with a three-point play 12 seconds in.
“Dauph stepped up,” said Ray. “All of them did. That’s a big ask to put four sophomores against that team. That team is going to win 15 or 16 games probably and they’re going to make a little bit of a run. That’s a good team.”
The Lancers kept working as Lawrence-Bynum banked in a hoop, Dauphinais canned four straight free throws, Fries hit two long bombs and Sward finished up with four straight points.
But in the end, Conard ramped up a 40-point win at home – seizing an 81-41 victory.
“We’re not going to see a team like that again” except for Bristol Central said Ray. “Conard has bigs, they have guards, they knock down shots, and they have a star player. The teams we play are tough but not like that. That’s a different kind of problem.”
BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL
CONARD 81, BRISTOL EASTERN 41
from Conard high school, West Hartford
Bristol Eastern (3-12) 5 19 7 20 – 51
Conard (13-2) 17 18 20 12 – 67
BRISTOL EASTERN (51): Lukas Sward 3 2 8, Jerry Tatum 1 0 2, Ben D’Amato 0 0 0, Brayden Dauphinais 4 5 14, Nate Fries 2 1 7, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 2 0 4, Dante DePass 1 0 3, Jordan Chisholm 0 0 0, Zaveyan Tate 1 0 3, Brady Bell 0 0 0. Totals: 14 8 41.
CONARD (81): Rasheen Smiley 1 0 2, Amar Doster 1 0 2, Declan McCann 0 0 0, Kyle Barnum 4 0 11, Riley Fox 12 2 30, Jackson Morhardt 1 0 2, Matt Santoro 2 0 4, Jalen Hamblin 6 1 14, Jaydon Schuler 4 0 10, Ryan Bushnell 3 0 6. Totals: 34 3 81.
Three-Point goals: Brayden Dauphinais (BE), Nate Fries (BE) 2, Zaveyan Tate (BE), Dante DePass (BE), Kyle Barnum (C) 3, Riley Fox (C) 4, Jalen Hamblin (C), Jaydon Schuler (C).
Records: Conard 13-2 overall; Bristol Eastern 3-12.
