By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team getting to the pay window last Thursday night wasn’t a complete surprise.
The Kingstreeters downed Plainville 54-24 to start the season with zest.
But it was the way the team did it over a suffocating second half defensive effort.
It was only a six point game at the half (23-17) but when Eastern went to it’s 2-3 zone defense, the Blue Devils couldn’t find a way to score the ball.
Plainville was limited to 25-percent shooting at the half and then that tally completely fell off a cliff over the final 16 minutes of play.
The squad connected on just 3-of-20 shots the rest of the way (15-percent), leading to a historic victory for Eastern.
The Lancers won by thirty points, it’s largest margin of victory ever in an opening night game, surpassing the 75-48 victory Eastern tallied at home versus Rockville back on December 17, 1993 (don’t forget, Bristol Eastern’s own Mr. Stavens attended Rockville High School and was cheering against our local heroes on the hardwood).
Defensively, the 24 points allowed by the Lancers was the fewest ever allowed by the Lancers during an opening game over its 64 year history.
The old record was established back on December 22, 1981, when Eastern turned away St. Paul by a 43-33 final in the Lancers’ 1980-81 opener.
And that means it’s time to take a stroll back through time and look at both those new records the current Eastern squad managed to reestablish.
Bristol Eastern’s old record for widest margin of victory on opening night: 27 points (75-48 win), established on December 17, 1993.
The Game: The Lancers went on a huge second period run to eventually capture the 27 point win or the Indians.
That season, Eastern was led by a team of 10 seniors strong and simply overwhelmed Rockville that evening.
Todd Ziogas, the uncle of Bristol Central’s Sophia Torreso, pumped in 19 points to lead a very balanced scoring attack.
The Lancers trailed 12-8 after eight minutes of play but a suffocating 16-0 second period burst by Eastern ended any lingering suspense.
Overall, the Lancers outscored Rockville 27-6 in the frame and never trailed again.
Ziogas also wrangled up three rebounds, seven assists and four steals over his usual complete game effort.
Current Eastern assistant coach Chris D’Amato added 14 points, Brenden Floyd zipped in eight points – canning two three-pointers along the way – while Mike Farrell and Derek Whitehead (seven rebounds) each posted seven points.
The Lancers won its first CCC South title that season, going 18-4 overall.
Old Record for fewest points allowed by the Lancers on opening night: 33 points (43-33 win), established on December 22, 1981.
When the decade of the 80s commenced, the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team was a local power.
And during the 1981-82 campaign, the Lancers scooped up 20 wins and were coming off its one and only state championship appearance.
Over the 10-point victory against St. Paul, Eastern’s David Nye led the locals with a tremendous 19 point scoring effort.
The Lancers had a tremendous campaign that year, going 20-5 overall behind the efforts of Tim Curtin, Doug Pina, and Nye.
That team, the Colonial Conference champs at 9-1, was ranked second overall in the Region III playoffs and made it all the way to the semifinals.
Eastern dropped a tough 54-44 decision to No. 1 Crosby on March 24 to end another memorable season.
It would be the final game for Eastern coach Jim Bates as Mike Giovinazzo took over the squad for the 1982-83 season.
