By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball team hung around in its game against Middletown on Tuesday night but just couldn’t get over the hump.
A cold shooting second period by the Lancers saw the Blue Dragons grab a sizable edge as the squad seized a 58-46 victory from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
The victory saw Middletown move to 9-6 overall while the Lancers, competing to the final buzzer, fell to .500 (8-8) on the campaign.
Middletown’s Nasir McDaniel was an absolute bulldog on the court, surging for 22 points and every step he took showed impressive ability and agility.
He crashed the paint for high-percentage buckets, hit a 3 along the way, and was an absolute menace defensively.
Teammate Richard Rivers added 10 points, Isaiah Rogers canned three 3s (nine) while Quadir Murphy (six) drained two trifectas of his own.
The visiting squad limited Eastern to 16-of-49 shooting from the field (32.7-percent) but the home team kept fighting after each and every miss.
“That team has a lot of answers,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray of Middletown. “They have some run stoppers [but] I thought we did a tremendous job in the second half. We won both quarters. That’s what we ask for. It was a small victory for us. We didn’t win the whole game but that’s a tough team.”
With sickness invading the Eastern squad, there was opportunity to be had with third-guard Jordan Chisholm out and reserve forward Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum seized the moment.
Bynum impressed with a 6-of-12 field goal shooting explosion for 12 points off the bench.
He also contributed three rebounds, a steal and was in the way when Middletown’s offense was peaking.
“He was being aggressive,” said Ray of Bynum. “Chisholm was out [and] Brayden Dauphinais was sick. Dauph gave us a lot playing at around 70-percent. Isaiah saw what was going on and he took it upon himself to create some offense. More power to him. It’s good to see him playing with a little bit of confidence.”
Dauphinais battled for 11 points, five rebounds and a couple blocked shots despite being under the weather, Zaveyn Tate (four rebounds, two blocks) and Ben D’Amato each scored eight while Lukas Sward contributed five points, three rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Nate Fries (six rebounds), Dante DePass, Mikey Sherrill and Brady Bell all contributed something over the thirty-two minute slate.
Middletown shot 47-percent overall from the field, hit seven blistering three-pointers and outrebounded the home squad 36-24 to stave off the pesky Eastern.
The Lancers didn’t turn the ball over much off intense full-court pressure tactics and of an and-1 by Tate and a quick lay-in from Fries, Eastern led 5-4 just over two minutes into things.
But the Blue Dragons used a suffocating 11-2 run to take the lead for good as McDaniel dropped in seven of those points and quickly, Middletown led 15-7 with 7:25 left to play in the second quarter.
“They came out hot. I mean super-hot,” said Ray of Middletown. “That’s a lot of three-point baskets to overcome. You’re trying to help off because you’re trying to stop the easy [baskets] from 6-foot-5 guys. They had three of them inside. Their perimeter guys made shots.”
Bynum notched eight points over the second period while Dauphinais added two free throws and a 3 but at the halftime break, Middletown grabbed a 37-20 halftime push.
“It just comes down to knocking down a few more shots in the beginning of the game. Not the end of the game,” said Ray. “At the end of the game, you’re just trying to play even with a team that’s very good, very athletic.”
“At the beginning of the game, that’s where it got away from us.”
Eastern refused to yield in the third period as Tate and D’Amato dropped in three-point bombs and off two charity tosses by Tate – leading to an Eastern 8-2 run – the home team trailed just 39-28 with 5:26 remaining in the third.
But six straight points from Middletown, with McDaniel adding two hoops to the till, the Lancers trailed 47-30 with 2:05 left in third period play.
“In the second half, they cooled off,” said Ray of Middletown. “We really limited their second chances. The baskets [Middletown] got were backing us in and just powering to the hoop. But we were there almost everywhere we could be. We had some blocks on them. We worked really hard, took care of the ball [and grabbed] loose balls. I thought we handled their pressure really well. I don’t think we turned it over (just seven turnovers in the game) and created baskets for them.”
“It was just a matter of our offense wasn’t able to make those consistent baskets.”
Sward ended the third with an and-1 to trim the deficit to 47-33 as the Lancers kept up their fight.
The Blue Dragons quickly made it a 19-point deficit again but off Dauphinais charity shots and a hoop, plus another Bynum bucket, the deficit was trimmed to 52-41 with 5:11 remaining.
To end the contest, D’Amato dropped in a late basket and one more 3 to trim the deficit once again but Middletown hung on to win it by 12, staking a 58-46 victory on the road in Bristol.
“I’m not a big moral victory guy but I’m going to be honest with you, I went into the locker room and you’re in a rough stretch of games,” said Ray. “We were able to turn around and there’s no quit. At one point, I think I even heard one of [Middletown’s coaches] say ‘what are they fouling for? What are they trapping for?’ And I heard one of their assistant coaches say, ‘they’re still competing.’
“That’s what we’re doing. We’re competing right to the end.”
Bristol Eastern Boys Basketball – CCC South Action
MIDDLETOWN 58, BRISTOL EASTERN 46
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Middletown (9-6) 13 24 10 11 – 58
Bristol Eastern (8-8) 7 13 13 13 – 46
MIDDLETOWN (58): Isaiah Rogers 3 0 9, Nasir McDaniel 10 1 22, Miquel Rodriguez 1 0 2, Quadir Murphy 2 0 6, Marshall Butler 2 0 5, Justice Freeman 1 0 2, Richard Rivers 4 2 10, Branden Torres 1 0 2. Totals: 24 3 58.
BRISTOL EASTERN (46): Drew Fries 1 0 2, Lukas Sward 1 3 5, Brady Bell 0 0 0, Dante DePass 0 0 0, Ben D’Amato 3 0 8, Zaveyn Tate 2 3 8, Brayden Dauphinais 3 4 11, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 6 0 12, Mikey Sherill 0 0 0. Totals: 16 10 46.
Three-point goals: Rogers (M) 3, McDaniel (M), Murphy (M) 2, Butler (M), D’Amato (BE) 2, Tate (BE), Dauphinais (BE).
Records: Middletown 9-6 overall; Bristol Eastern 8-8.
