By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The contests between the Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central boys basketball programs have been tit for tat ever since a certain 7-foot-2 center left for the University of Connecticut.
It certainly leveled out the playing field, allowing for some pretty competitive bouts between the two well coached programs.
Over the two games last season, Central outscored the Eastern by just two points as the city series showdowns were as close as close can be.
On December 27, 2022, Brayden Dauphinais and Lukas Sward posted 14-point games as the Kingstreeters downed the Rams 49-44.
But in the rematch, this time from the court at the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, the Rams hung a 59-52 loss on the Lancers (February 20).
And that physical war went along the same lines of Wednesday’s 52-49 victory by Eastern.
“Last year, it was kind of identical at our place,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “We couldn’t make a basket. They shoved us around the basket, got easy ones and we kind of came back and then we kind of fell apart. This year, it didn’t work that way.”
Eastern was cold to start against Central and managed to hit just 4-of-12 first period field goals, leading to a back and forth showdown.
But it was a tremendous fourth quarter 3 by Brady Bell and then the collegiate bound Lukas Sward quickly made a steal, leading to an insurance hoop.
And when Jordan Chisholm flipped in a lay-up, stopping on a dime to push the Eastern lead out to 51-44 with 4:01 to play.
Those composure hoops were just enough to stave off hungry Central, playing its first game of the year from home.
“Same start, same result around the basket [but] the difference is that we made some shots down the stretch,” said Ray. “We were able to show some poise which, again, we’re just checking boxes off, doing things that we never used to do that hopefully is moving us in that forward direction.”
“It just shows growth and maturity.”
But there wasn’t a huge celebration after the 52-49 triumph over Eastern’s biggest rival.
This veteran group knows that they’re bigger prizes in store this season for the undefeated program (4-0).
“You’re in a tournament, it’s a competitive situation and even when I went into the locker room, there was excitement but I think they know they could play better,” said Ray. “I tell them every night wins are tough in this league no matter where [you get them] and they’re just wanting to do more.”
In the finals of the Bristol Central Holiday Classic on Friday, the contest will be a familiar one.
It’s a rematch between Eastern and Simsbury (7 p.m.), fresh off a 66-28 demolition of Capital Prep.
Last year, the Lancers were able to top the Trojans by a 63-55 final as the Lancers moved to 3-1 overall.
Dauphinais drained team-highs of 21 points and eight rebounds as Eastern shot the ball very well, playing an early tit-for-tat game before the Kingstreeters eventually pulled away in the end.
“Last year against Simsbury, it was a tough game,” said Ray. “We played really well. We’re very familiar with them. For us, we’ll prep like we always do. I know we’ll be a little banged up [Friday]. Hopefully, we’ll get some guys off the bench and hopefully, like I said, we can keep winning.”
This group is not just winning but playing for each other on a tremendously high level.
The 4-0 ledger by the Lancers is the best start in recent memory and the team is thinking big.
Eastern is now searching for its first 5-0 start since the 1997-98 season.
And who did the Lancers pickoff in game five to stay undefeated that year?
It was Simsbury as Eastern posted a 51-40 win on December 30, 1997 in the finals of the Plainville Blue Devils Classic.
Aaron Young led the team with 11 points as the squad’s chemistry led to an eventual six-game streak to open the year.
Many of those elements that the 1997-98 team put on the court are also fueling the Lancers this season.
The Kingstreeters are a long way away from those 4-16 and 6-14 campaigns of just a few years ago.
“I’m proud of what this program’s turned into,” said Ray. “We had some good times, we had a lot of bad times. And right now, we’re having a little more [of the] good times. We’re winning, we’re playing competitive, we’re playing a tough schedule and we’re in every game.”
“I’m very happy the growth this program has shown as a whole the last three or four years.”
And the Eastern team, after three consecutive road games to start the campaign, was extremely eager to get back to the city of Bristol despite not playing a single second to date from King Street.
“Being in Bristol, it’s pretty special for us,” said Ray. “We like this tournament [and] we’re glad that they have us up here.”
Bristol Central Holiday Classic – from Wednesday
*Simsbury 66, Capital Prep 28
*Bristol Eastern 52, Bristol Central 49
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