By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – When the Lewis Mills boys basketball program is humming on all cylinders, that means senior Brice Waldron is producing on both ends of the court. 

And he dominated on Friday night – dropping in a game-high 28 points against Bristol Eastern – as the Spartans ramped up a 55-39 victory over the Lancers from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol. 

It was the fifth straight triumph for the squad (11-8) after a 1-5 start that was largely due to injury and sickness. 

Waldron, hitting tough shots from inside and out against Eastern, drained 21 of his 28 points over first half play as the Spartans led 23-6 after one period and never looked back.  

“We’ve known he’s one of the best players in the CCC,” said Lewis Mills coach Ryan Raponey of Waldron. “He was all-conference last season. He came out on the first night and [got hurt]. Obviously, he was dealing with some other stuff but he was still hobbled up for some games and he wasn’t playing at the level he’s used to playing at. But these last few games during this stretch, we’ve won five in a row. He’s obviously asserted himself in every one of these games as one of the best players in the conference and, I think, one of the best players in the state.”  

Logan Cowger added 13 points while Eli Pelletier hit two three-pointers, wrangling up eight for the victors. 

Eastern (4-15) outscored Mills, 33-27, over the final twenty-two minutes of the showdown but was never able to catch up in the end. 

The Spartans scooped up 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter and those second shots led to additional offense for the visiting aggression.  

“They’re good,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray of Mills. “They’re physical, they’re tough. Waldron was tough. I thought our kids fought hard. Now, I was disappointed in a couple things we didn’t do defensively to stop them. But at the end of the day, Waldron’s a really good player.” 

“He was able to find open shots everywhere on the court.” 

Eastern sophomore Brayden Dauphinais was excellent in defeat, posting 19 points, four rebounds, and a team-high five assists. 

In fact, his only three-point make with 7:06 to go in the showdown made it a 48-36 game with the Lancers hanging around in the fray. 

Running-mate Lukas Sward added seven points, four rebounds, and three steals – hustling all over the hardwood to keep his squad hanging around. 

“He’s been outstanding,” said Ray of Dauphinais. “In the second half of the year, him and Lukas, they’ve been putting unbelievable efforts out there. You can see the maturity and that’s all you want to see when you’re playing young kids. By the end of the year, are they knocking out the simple mistakes that they’re making [and] are they playing through some adversity? That’s to me is a big testament to what they’re doing this year.”  

Eastern senior Jerry Tatum added four points and two assists, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum nabbed a team-high five rebounds, Nate Fries had three steals, and Dante DePass hit for five points and snared two rebounds to lead the home team.  

Mills ran out to a 12-4 edge through four minutes of work to open the game but when Tatum found Dauphinais for a bucket, the deficit was chopped to six (12-6) with 3:56 left in the first period. 

The Spartans then ran off 16 consecutive points as 3s by Pelletier and Waldron made it a 28-6 push with 6:22 remaining in the first half. 

However, Eastern went on a 13-6 burst as Sward drained a three, Dauphinais canned a hoop and when Tatum hit two free throws, the home team trailed 34-19 with 1:45 to go in the half. 

Waldron ended the second period with five straight points as the visiting aggression led 39-19 at halftime. 

The Lancers trailed 46-25 midway through the third tilt but went on another run, nearly making it a game. 

Eastern’s defense limited the Spartans to just two points over the final 4:01 of the third as a 11-2 jaunt, started and ended by hoops from Dauphinais, chopped the deficit to 48-36 with just over seven minutes to play.   

“We gave them a big lead early but we didn’t quit,” said Ray. 

The game got chippy midway through the fourth but a 3 from Waldon and a lay-up by Cowger built the Lewis Mills edge to 53-36 with 3:59 showing on the clock. 

DePass canned a late 3 for the Lancers, the Spartans eventually went into stall mode and off one final lay-up from Waldron with 1:13 left, Mills came away with an impressive 55-39 win in Bristol. 

“I’m not upset about the way we handled ourselves,” said Ray. “That’s kind of been the thing all year that’s shot us in the foot is that one big shot. The other day at South Windsor, we made one there. Against Watertown, we made one there. Obviously, there’s some things we need to be able to do. I think the big thing for us is body strength. You know, we wear down. But what we don’t have in body strength, we sure as heck make up for it in heart.”  

RIM DUST…Bristol Eastern paid tribute to former Lancers’ coach Mike Giovinazzo in a ceremony before the game. Several of his former players from both the boys basketball and baseball teams were in attendance. Please read the story of that special event in the pages of TBE. 

BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL 

LEWIS MILLS 55, BRISTOL EASTERN 39 

from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol 

Lewis Mills (11-8) 23 16 9 7 – 55 

Bristol Eastern (4-15) 6 13 14 6 – 39 

LEWIS MILLS (55): Brice Waldron 12 1 28, Colby Cables 0 0 0, Logan Cowger 5 3 13, Ryan Mayes 0 0 0, Jon Schibi 1 0 2, Jack Stanislaw 2 0 4, Charlie Joiner 0 0 0, Connor Evans 0 0 0, Eli Pelletier 3 0 8. Totals: 23 4 55. 

BRISTOL EASTERN (39): Jerry Tatum 1 2 4, Lukas Sward 3 0 7, Dante DePass 2 0 5, Ben D’Amato 0 0 0, Brayden Dauphinais 7 4 19, Nate Fries 1 0 2, Isaiah Lawrence Bynum 1 0 2, Zayevan Tate 0 0 0. Totals: 15 6 55. 

Three-point goals: Waldron (LM) 3, Pelletier (LM) 2, Sward (BE), DePass (BE), Dauphinais (BE). 

Records: Lewis Mills 11-8 overall; Bristol Eastern 4-15