By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team – at one point over its CCC Interdivisional showdown against Hall on Tuesday – led by 13 in the second quarter, then trailed by 14 midway through the fourth before trimming the deficit all the way to three late. 

But in the end, the Titans hung on to snare a 53-47 victory from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol. 

The Lancers (1-1) certainly had chances late, but doom and demise came about in the third period for the locals. 

Hall (1-1) trailed 27-15 heading into the third before a 31-5 burst gave the visitors a 46-32 cushion with 5:22 remaining in the game. 

“That was all offense. Hall was able to score a lot of points, but we could have scored a few baskets and ended the run at any point in that third quarter,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “We had a 12-point lead. All we had to do was make a few baskets and they just bullied us around.” 

Eastern’s line-up had to be juggled a bit as starting point guard Lukas Sward (six points, five rebounds, three steals, zero turnovers) was saddled with foul trouble the entire evening. 

Without Eastern’s floor general to start the third period, the Titans were able to force the home team into some tough offensive situations. 

And when Sward picked up his fourth foul with 2:24 left in the third, two free throws by Hall’s Anthony McKeown (seven points) gave the squad the lead for good at 30-29. 

“Lukas was in foul trouble,” said Ray of Sward. “I didn’t start him in the second half. When you have three fouls going into third and if he picks up a fourth early, the next thing you know you’re chasing without your point guard and one of your best ball handlers. That was big for us to have him in foul trouble. And we were trying to hold the fort with a 12-point lead until we could get him back.” 

“That didn’t happen, and it turned into an explosion. The momentum just got away from us.” 

The loss spoiled an incredible effort by Eastern’s Brayden Dauphinais, blasting home a career-high 26 points – hitting four three-pointers along the way – to go along with five rebounds and two steals. 

The junior forward scored 14 of that game-high 26 over fourth period play and nearly saw his team draw even towards the end of the fourth. 

“He was unbelievable,” said Ray of Dauphinais. “That’s what I expect out of him. Unfortunately, I had to speak to him about a couple shots selection wise but at the same time, how can I fault a kid with that heroic effort? That’s the competitor he is.” 

Zaveyn Tate didn’t score over the encounter but led the Lancers on the glass with eight rebounds. 

Hall misfired all over the court during the first 16 minutes of play, hitting just six field goals for a subpar shooting percentage. 

Hall led it 8-6 with 3:41 left to go in the first quarter before the Lancers notched 18 of the next 22 points. 

The ball was snapping all over the court during the run as Jordan Chisholm, Ben D’Amato (six points) and Dauphinais each hit a 3, Sward canned a lay-up and when D’Amato found Nate Fries (three rebounds, two steals) for a basket, the Kingstreeters led 23-10 with 5:26 to go in the first half. 

To end the stanza, Dauphinais drained a lay-up and when Dante DePass (four points, three rebounds) put back a late miss, Eastern held a 27-15 cushion at the halftime horn. 

In the third tilt, Eastern missed all ten of its field goal attempts as Hall made its run. 

The Titans outscored the Lancers 24-2 in the third period and off a huge 3-point bomb from Harris Berson (12 points) with just seconds remaining in the frame, Hall scooped up a 39-29 edge with eight minutes left.   

“We’re going to keep talking about situations,” said Ray. “We are not adjusting to the situations because we’re still young. There were situations out there where we shot quickly and that’s when things started getting away from us. If we made any of those threes that went up, the game is a lot different. Now they’re chasing us, the floor is open, and maybe we make a play.” 

“Don’t underestimate the fatigue that was out there too where Hall’s bigger players were just grinding on [our guys]….we just got tired.” 

The Titans slowed things down a bit to open the final stanza and hit a couple shots early. 

A 3-ball by Amecca Freeman with 5:22 remaining made it a 46-32 game but the cracks started showing in Hall’s offense thanks in part to Eastern’s improved defense, Dauphinais took over and the visitors had to hold on for dear life. 

DePass canned two big foul shots halfway through the tilt and even as Hall’s Justin Hill (12 points) hit a lay-up with 3:59 left, the squad’s nine-point cushion (48-39) nearly evaporated. 

Hall got into foul trouble and as Dauphinais attacked the hoop with zest, resulting in six-of-eight free throw shooting from the line, the Lancers trailed just 48-45 with 1:42 left. 

“We showed some grit in the fourth quarter,” said Ray. “Last year, we got punched and we got punched again. This year, we punch back.” 

With less than a minute to play, Eastern induced a jump ball, eventually got it back, but a forced shot by Dauphinais missed the mark, Berson hit three late free throws to ice the game as Hall eventually wrapped up a 53-47 win in Bristol.  

“We lost that game on every little thing,” said Ray. “It wasn’t a big thing whether it was flashing to the ball, reversing the ball, setting a good screen, cutting properly, getting to our sets faster, or anyone of those things you have to do when you’re not the stronger team.” 

“You’ve got to do everything perfectly.”    

Bristol Eastern Boys Basketball – CCC Interdivisional Action 

HALL 53, BRISTOL EASTERN 47 

from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol 

Hall (1-1) 10 5 24 14 – 53 

Bristol Eastern (1-1) 13 14 2 18 – 47 

HALL (53): Anthony McKeown 2 3 7, Amecca Freeman 5 0 12, Colin McGann 2 1 5, Angelo Culmo 1 0 2, Justin Hill 5 2 12, Harris Berson 3 4 12, Spencer Berson 2 0 4. Totals: 20 10 53. 

BRISTOL EASTERN (47): Naseem Walker 0 0 0, Nate Fries 1 0 2, Jordan Chisholm 1 0 3, Lukas Sward 3 0 6, Dante DePass 1 2 4, Ben D’Amato 2 0 6, Zaveyn Tate 0 0 0, Brayden Dauphinais 7 8 26, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 0 0 0. Totals: 15 10 47. 

Three-point goals: Chisholm (BE), Dauphinais (BE) 4, Ben D’Amato (BE) 2. 

Records: Hall 1-1 overall; Bristol Eastern 1-1.