By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – There’s never an easy game for the boys scholastic basketball teams in town when sharing the court with the program from Lewis Mills.
The team has been a great addition to the CCC South lineup after years of competition in the Berkshire League and on Friday night, the Spartans squared off against Bristol Central in another big bout.
Mills was able to square up an early double-figure lead and eventually cruised to a 70-44 victory from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium on the campus of BCHS.
Central fell to 2-5 overall as the program continues to battle as the lineup is still trying to find a little more consistency.
Mills, under the leadership of head coach Ryan Raponey, has now won five straight games since starting the campaign at 0-2.
Leading the charge was Connor Evans again and the 6-foot-4 forward, who dumped 28 points on Bristol Eastern in his previous game, was at it again.
Against Central, he zipped up 26 points, 13 rebounds and tallied three steals over another complete game effort.
Sharpshooter Eli Pelletier squared away 19 points while guard Gavin Daly nearly posted a double-double, collecting 10 points and dishing off nine assists.
Mills is now 3-0 and has a great chance to win the CCC South Championship if the squad can keep up the pace.
Central’s Mikey McMahon, the squad’s leading scorer, dropped in 13 points.
He drained three 3-pointers in an attempt to keep pace with the Spartans.
Joey Pikiell netted nine points, hitting a 3 along the way, while Quincy Lawson also added nine.
Big Harry Ross netted seven points but Evans was just on another level for the second consecutive game.
Mills led 24-11 through one period of play and nabbed a 40-23 edge at the halftime break.
It was still a 17-point deficit through three periods of play while Central eventually fell by 26 points in the end.
It was the second straight loss for the Rams who finished their first five games of the year at 2-3..
Central falls to Middletown on Wednesday
The Rams battled CCC South challenger Middletown to open the week, dropping a tough 71-55 decision to the Blue Dragons.
Central trailed 21-5 after eight minutes of play and trailed 44-17 at the half.
Quadir Murphy slipped in a game-high 26 points while Branden Torres added 19 to the winning effort.
McMahon, who continues to shine from downtown, posted a team best 17 points – hitting five threes in the process.
Nate Ortiz had nine points, Cody Roy added a season-high eight points, Ross netted seven while Pikiell and Lawson each posted four apiece.
This week
The CCC grind continues into the month of January for the Rams.
Central travels to Newington next week to square off against a double-tough CCC interdivisional challenger on Tuesday (6:45 p.m.).
Two days later, the Rams are back home, taking their best shot against Platt in a CCC South confrontation.
Game time is set for 6:45 p.m.
And after an eight-day layoff, the Rams welcome non-conference challenger Xavier to the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium on Friday, January 19 at 6:45 p.m.
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