Bristol Eastern did not bring their “A game” with them to South Windsor Friday night.
The Lancers played a rather poor first half, trailing 29-18 at intermission.
Then, to start the third quarter, Eastern went on a 10-0 run, and at the 4:49 mark, closed to 29-28. From that point to the end, the contest stayed relatively close.
At the 4:14 mark of the third quarter, Lukas Sward picked up his fourth foul, and was forced to sit for the rest of the quarter. Eastern trailed by one, 35-34, after three periods.
To start the fourth South Windsor’s London King (game high scorer with 27 points), hit a two and consecutive three’s for an 8-0 run, and at the 4:00 minute mark, South Windsor led by nine, 43-34.
Trailing by a 45-36 count, the Lancers get a 3 from Jordan Chisholm (six three’s on the night), a basket by Zaveyn Tate, and two foul shots by Brayden Dauphinais, and cut the deficit to 45-43 with a minute to go.
With 12.9 seconds left, Eastern, down by four, wanted to intentionally foul, and Naseem Walker fouled King on an inbounds play, Eastern’s fifth foul of the quarter. But South Windsor had six players on the court, and was called for a technical.
After several minutes and much discussion, South Windsor was awarded two foul shots, converted by King, making the score 49-43.
Chisholm made the two technical foul shots, and with the score now at 49-45, Sward was fouled on a three point attempt and made the first two (49-47), but missed the third which was rebounded by BE’s Brady Bell. Bell missed his attempted put-back, Eastern fouled again, and South Windsor’s Ethan Burke converted both for the final score of 51-47.
“We played badly in every aspect of the game and still had a chance to win,” Eastern coach Bunty Ray said. “I told the kids what to expect: a hungry team on senior night, needs [a win] to make the tournament. We didn’t match their intensity. That’s the bottom line.”
The ruling on the floor: Six men on the court
When the ball was inbounded, Eastern immediately fouled and it was quickly discovered that the Bobcats had six players on the court – causing a technical foul.
However, since Eastern’s fifth foul came BEFORE the refs caught the six men, it could not be rescinded.
No one had ever seen such a strange ending to a game.
Eastern is now 14-4 and returns to action right away with a 5:00 home game today vs. E.O. Smith, a make-up for the game snowed out on Tuesday.
South Windsor 51 Bristol Eastern 47
BRISTOL EASTERN (14-4): Naseem Walker 0 0 0, Brayden Dauphinais 1 4 7, Jordan Chisholm 6 2 20, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 0 0 0, Zaveyn Tate 2 1 5, Lukas Sward 2 4 8, Brady Bell 2 0 4, Dante DePass 0 0 0, Ben D’Amato 1 0 3. Totals: 14 11 47.
SOUTH WINDSOR (8-11): Joey Bemis 2 0 4, London King 8 6 27, JP Dargati 1 0 3, Ethan Burke 1 2 4, Brayden Edwards 1 0 3, Josh Vadavalli 0 0 0, Slei Elder 1 0 2, Tyler Pottinger 4 0 8. Totals: 18 8 51.
Bristol Eastern: 10 8 16 13 – – – 47
South Windsor: 15 14 6 16 – – – 51
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