By Michael Letendre
ROCKY HILL – Winning a bit on the ugly side is better than the alternative of not generating a win at all.
And that’s the scenario the boys basketball squad over at Bristol Eastern faced at Rocky Hill on Monday night, taking the Terriers best shot.
But the Lancers nabbed the lead for good with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter and Rocky Hill – though still pesky – had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Eastern got the job, earning a trip to the pay window in the process with its 58-39 triumph on the road in a CCC Interdivisional bout, winning its fifth straight game.
The Lancers (6-1) truly had to fend off the Terriers (1-6) despite the home team trailing for most of the showdown.
“Our execution tonight in the first half was non-existent. There was too much one-on-one,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “I think they thought they could go to the basket whenever they wanted. I told them they had to be careful. [Rocky Hill] was a hungry team playing on their home court.”
“They had one win and was looking for their second against us. We were kind of playing into their hands.”
Zaveyn Tate (game-high 18 points, three rebounds, three assists) notched 11 of his team-leading total over Eastern’s 13-0 fourth period run and what was just an eight point spread became a 52-31 deficit with 3:10 left in regulation.
Tate finished at the hoop with zest, draining 8-of-11 field goals, and simply overwhelmed the opposition with his outstanding execution in the paint.
“First half, [he] was non-existent. Second half, [he was the] MVP,” said Ray of Tate. “But that’s when we made a concerted effort to get the ball in there. We were trying to get him touches early and he was kind of being passive with the ball. I told him he had to score a little bit more. He took only two shots in the first half. He’s got to touch the ball and he’s got to score or at least collapse the defense.”
“In the second half, when they went to go change their match-ups, it was his time to shine.”
The contest commenced as a see-saw battle and it took the Lancers nearly 3:30 minutes to post its first points.
But Sward (15 points) helped cue an 8-0 run as he notched six points over the jaunt with his steal and lay-up at the 3:07 mark of the first quarter making it an 8-3 game.
The Lancers never trailed again from that point on.
“Lukas in a game like that, pretty much can create his own offense,” said Ray of Sward. “So if he’s going to score, he’s going to score. [Brayden] Dauphinais was off a little tonight, he wasn’t his normal self and did not knock down as many shots. He wasn’t getting to the rim so we have other options.”
The Lancers led 13-9 through one period before some halfcourt pressure defense led to a little Eastern offense.
Jordan Chisholm (eight points, two assists) sank home a 3 and when Nate Fries (five points, three rebounds, four assists) canned a free throw with 5:10 left before the half, it was a 17-9 game.
“We put a little press on them but we’re not that kind of team,” said Ray. “We’re not going to live or die by that but it allowed us to get a little bit of a lead. And then we went basket-for-basket. As long as we limited the runs, it was fine.”
Ben D’Amato and Chisholm hit threes over the mid and tail-end of the second period and when the latter drained his with just seconds to play before the half, Eastern scooped up a 25-15 lead – the first double-figure edge by the visitors that evening.
Eastern pushed the deficit out to 12 early in the third quarter off a put-back from Brayden Dauphinais (seven points, 10 rebounds) but the Terriers chopped the deficit to seven off an and-1 by Tyler Carlstrom as the Terriers were down just 34-27 with 2:41 to go in the stanza.
Dauphinais proceeded to hit a free throw with no time left on the clock in the third tilt as Eastern was holding a 38-29 edge going into the final quarter.
A flip shot by Rocky Hill’s Casey Robinson (10 points) with 7:20 to play in regulation chopped the deficit to 39-31 but with Naseem Walker causing havoc defensively with his quickness and the superior interior passing by the Lancers to get Tate several early looks, Rocky Hill was all of a sudden trailing by 21 off that 13-0 Eastern spurt.
“I thought Walker again was able to come in and contain their guards and do things he needed to do,” said Ray.
Two free throws by Rocky Hill’s Yaz Aftab (10 points) trimmed the deficit to 17 with 1:59 left but it was too little, too late.
To end the Eastern scoring, Sward chucked in two charity tosses, Chisholm found Tate for an easy lay-up and Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (two points, three rebounds) flipped in one final hoop to propel the Kingstreeters to a 58-39 triumph with a huge showdown against Platt (Thursday, 6:45 p.m. at BEHS) on deck.
“We walked into the locker room [after the game] not playing our best but I was still happy,” said Ray. “I can’t say I’d feel like that in year’s past but I’m going to let every win be enjoyable because I know what it’s like. [Rocky Hill] was a hungry team playing at home trying to get a win.”
“I’ve been there. We just didn’t let them win.”
Bristol Eastern Boys Basketball – CCC Interdivisional Contest
BRISTOL EASTERN 58, ROCKY HILL 39
from Rocky Hill High School
Bristol Eastern (6-1) 13 12 13 20 – 58
Rocky Hill (1-6) 9 6 14 10 – 39
BRISTOL EASTERN (58): Naseem Walker 0 0 0, Nate Fries 2 1 5, Jordan Chisholm 3 0 8, Lukas Sward 5 5 15, Dante DePass 0 0 0, Ben D’Amato 1 0 3, Zaveyn Tate 8 2 18, Brayden Dauphinais 2 3 7, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 1 0 2, Brady Bell 0 0 0, Cheniel Serrano 0 0 0. Totals: 22 11 58.
ROCKY HILL (39): Casey Robinson 4 2 10, Yaz Aftab 4 2 10, Tyler Carlstrom 2 0 4, Luke Castanho 2 0 5, Grant Fishberg 3 0 6, Alex Kastner 2 0 4. Totals: 17 4 39.
Three-point goals: D’Amato (BE), Chisholm (BE) 2, (RH).
Records: Bristol Eastern 6-1 overall; Rocky Hill 1-6.
