The Bristol Eastern boys capped off their best regular season in years with a 62-50 victory over cross-town rival Bristol Central Monday night.
The Lancers jumped out quickly with a combination of excellent ball movement and hot shooting to lead the Rams throughout most of the first half and ended the half with a 10-point lead, 33-23.
Central proved to be a stubborn opponent, however, and cut the lead to four late in the third and then again in the fourth period. But each time Central made a run, Eastern answered with burst of their own, and the Lancers never did give up their advantage.
Lukas Sward was outstanding for Eastern, scoring 24 points on an assortment of spectacular drives to the hoop with two three pointers thrown in. He was especially effective in the second half, seemingly answering every BC hoop with a score of his own.
Zaveyn Tate threw down 12 points for the Lancers, while Jordan Chisholm with 8 and Brayden Dauphinais with 7 rounded off the Eastern scoring.
Joey Pikiell led Central with 11 points, including three treys in the second half that helped keep the Rams close. Carmelo Thompson added 11 to BC’s total, while Harry Ross and Mikey McMahon chipped in with 8 apiece.
Eastern finished the regular season with 16-4 record and will play in the CCC Tournament beginning on Thursday. The Lancers will have a home game Thursday night, but their opponent is not yet known.
Central finishes their season with a 4-16 record. They can look forward to a schedule next year that is less suicidal than the past two years. (It is called the Clingan Effect.)
BRISTOL EASTERN 62 BRISTOL CENTRAL 50
BRISTOL CENTRAL (4-16): Gavin Chamberlin 2 1 5, Mikey McMahon 3 0 8, Cody Roy 1 0 2, Jaysun Dominguez 2 0 4, Nate Ortiz 0 0 0, Carmelo Thompson 5 0 11, Joey Pikiell 4 0 11, Harry Ross 4 0 8, Jayden Sokolowski 0 0 0, Quincy Lawson 0 1 1. Totals: 21 2 50.
BRISTOL EASTERN (16-4): Naseem Walker 0 1 1, Brayden Dauphinais 2 3 7, Jordan Chisholm 3 0 8, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 1 0 2, Zaveyn Tate 4 4 12, Ryan Gaity 0 0 0, Lukas Sward 10 2 24, Brady Bell 0 3 3, Ben Kozikowski 0 0 0, Tyghe Collins 0 0 0, Dante DePass 0 0 0, Ben D’Amato 2 0 5. Totals: 22 13 62.
Bristol Central: 11 12 15 12 – – – – 50
Bristol Eastern: 17 16 15 14 – – – – 62
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