By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – After a so-so shooting first half by the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team on Friday night against CCC South challenger Maloney, the locals put on an offensive display over the second sixteen minutes.
The Lancers drained 15-of-20 shots over second half play as the Kingstreeters nabbed a big 60-41 victory from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
Defense was the key for Eastern, now 3-for-3 from home after that ridiculous six game road stretch to start the campaign.
The Lancers are 7-2 overall and are one game away from state tournament qualification.
Maloney’s Marquis Ward – who was an Eastern buster last season – was held to just three points as Zaveyn Tate (six points, season-high 13 rebounds, three blocks) held the forward in check with his defense.
“We mixed zone and man” defenses said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “Zaveyn did a great job on Ward. That team really thrives on open-court play. Aside from us turning the ball over a few times, I thought we were able to stay in a half-court game with them. That’s a good game for us against Maloney because of their athleticism.”
“It just became a matter of winning possessions at that point.”
Defense eventually led to offense as Eastern’s Jordan Chisholm exploded over second half play.
Scoring five points at the half, Chisholm exploded for 18 in the second half as the home squad scored 39 points over the final two quarters.
“I felt good,” said Chisholm. “My teammates once again we’re giving me the ball when I was open.”
And he was open a lot as Maloney switched up defenses more than a couple times over second half play and Chisholm canned 7-of-8 field goal attempts – posting those 18 points.
Overall, the Lancers hit 23-of-40 shots for a season-high 57.5-percentage from the field.
Eastern canned 8-of-18 shots from downtown with Chisholm leading the charge with five threes.
However, the Lancers went a blazing 15-for-22 from two-point territory as the locals attacked the paint with zest – finishing at the rim in the process.
“We were able to get to the rim which is nice,” said Ray of Eastern’s offense.
Lukas Sward and Brayden Dauphinais were both 4-of-8 from the field for 11 points apiece.
Sward added six assists and two steals while Dauphinais nabbed seven rebounds and two assists.
Brady Bell finished strongly in the paint, making 3-of-5 field goals for eight points, five rebounds, three assists and a couple blocked shots as his length bothered Maloney offenders.
Along with his game-high 23 points, Chisholm added three rebounds and a couple steals, while Ben D’Amato, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum, Naseem Walker and Dante DePass all saw court time for the Lancers.
Mekhi Seth led Maloney with 11 points while big Mike Massey added nine.
Eastern turnovers, a season-high 19 for the program, allowed the Spartans to hang around but once the home team was able to beat the pressure, and take better care of the ball, lay-ups and huge 3’s followed.
The fourth period saw Eastern net a season-high 21 points over the stanza.
“I think the one of the biggest things we wrote in the scout[ing report] was if we are able to not turn the ball over and give them possessions, [Maloney] was going to struggle,” said Ray. “And a lot of their offense came because of our offense. They got extra possessions when they didn’t need to. But, they are athletic. It’s not like they’re out there and they’re a bad team. They have a winning record for a reason. Their guys out front are very, very tough.”
However, despite the miscues, the visiting aggression never gained the lead.
The first period went back and forth as baskets weren’t in great supply.
After a 3 by Maloney’s Messiah Abrahante, Sward connected on a three-point play and Chisholm canned a jumper as Eastern led 12-7 with 61 seconds left in the frame.
Ahead by three (12-9) to start the second period, a 3-ball by Chisholm, off an assist by Tate, propelled the Lancers to a 16-11 edge with 5:43 remaining in the half.
Maloney eventually tied the event up at 16-16 before a baseline 3 from Dauphinais and a slick lay-in by Sward gave Eastern a 21-16 bump at the half.
The Kingstreeters opened the third tilt on a 16-4 burst as Bell found both Dauphinais and Chisholm for back-to-back threes and when Tate canned a traditional three-point play with 3:33 to go in the quarter, Eastern’s cushion reached 37-20 as the visitors were calling for time.
But the Lancers scored just two points the rest of the quarter as turnovers led to eight straight points for the Spartans and when Abrahante canned his second 3 with 51.3 seconds left to go in the third, Maloney trimmed the deficit to single digits (37-28) with the fourth quarter still on deck.
Eastern led 39-30 going into the fourth but wiped out Maloney when the team tried different defenses against the Lancers that did not produce any positive results.
A mini 7-3 jaunt by the Lancers saw Chisholm hit his fourth 3 of the night as Eastern regained a double-figure lead at 46-33 with 5:10 remaining.
“[Maloney] lost him, they opened up the floor and we were able to find him with some good passing and actually putting the [ball] on the floor ourselves, cresting opportunities,” said Ray of Chisholm. “When you gamble, you’re going to lose guys. We weren’t really making them pay. I’ll tell you the truth, they really didn’t press us all that much because nobody was making any baskets in the first half. In the second half, people started making baskets and it became open floor.”
“For us, we were able to find open guys in the corners.”
Maloney was limited to just 11 fourth period points and with 3:07 left in regulation, Eastern was still in front by 13 (50-37).
To end the scoring, Chisholm dropped in two more shots, including three-pointer number five, Sward hit an and-1 and when Sward dished off a sweet pass to Bell for one last lay-up, the 60-41 score was the final of the game – pushing Eastern to a 7-2 record overall.
“This is great,” said Ray about playing at BE. “I love being at home, Friday Night. It was a good energy in the gym and it was a good energy all night.”
Bristol Eastern Boys Basketball – CCC South Tilt
BRISTOL EASTERN 60, MALONEY 41
from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol
Maloney (4-4) 9 7 14 11 – 41
Bristol Eastern (7-2) 12 9 18 21 – 60
MALONEY (41): Jesus Martell 1 0 2, Sean Boles 1 0 2, Allen Lee 1 0 2, Mekhi Seth 4 2 11, Luciano Nieves 2 0 4, Messiah Abrahante 2 0 6, Marquis Ward 1 1 3, Tyrone Legree 1 0 2, Mike Massey 3 3 9, Aiden Valerie 0 0 0. Totals: 16 6 41.
BRISTOL EASTERN (60): Naseem Walker 0 0 0,Brayden Dauphinais 4 1 11, Jordan Chisholm 9 0 23, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 0 0 0, Zaveyn Tate 3 1 7, Lukas Sward 4 2 11, Brady Bell 3 2 8, Dante DePass 0 0 0, Ben D’Amato 0 0 0. Totals: 23 6 60.
Three-point goals: Mekhi Seth (M). Messiah Abrahante (M) 2, Brayden Dauphinais (BE) 2, Jordan Chisholm (BE) 5, Lukas Sward (BE).
Records: Bristol Eastern 7-2 overall; Maloney 4-4.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.
