By Michael Letendre

The evolution of the 3-pointer in scholastic hoop started during the 1986-87 campaign and in Bristol – at the public high school level – the use of the weapon took a little time to integrate. 

The three-point shot is now in its 35th year at the scholastic level and seems common-placed while at one point, 3s weren’t an option of many coaches offensive sets. 

And at Bristol Eastern, that was true for both the boys and girls programs. 

Mike Giovinazzo’s boys team made a combined 64 three-pointers from 1986-1989 before the squad sank 64 alone over the 1989-90 season. 

In 1990-91, Tom Lorenzetti dropped in a school record 47 3s that year  but the rest of the team just connected on 12 overall. 

The shot started to take hold in 1993-94 when the Lancers hit 88 long range bombs, then a school record, with Chris D’Amato and D.J. Parent leading the way. 

And by the late 1990s, three-pointers seemed legal and encouraged at Eastern. 

The Lancers hit 85 total 3s in 1998-99 and flashed in 92 one season later as Brian Plourde (57 career 3s) and John Phelan (55) liked to shoot those bombs while Brett Fortier (there’s that last name again) hit for a then school record 88 three-pointers before graduating in 2000. 

Eastern notched 112 three-pointers in 2002-03 and by 2010, it seemed like everyone was shooting the long ball in the state. 

Brett Anderson established the single season record for threes in 2007 and Christian Pierce was a tremendous 3-point shooter on the Eastern squad in 2009-10, a team that ended up going to the Class L semifinals. 

Pierce dropped in a then school single season record of 53 that season and plastered two opponents for six in a game, including a memorable night at Edwin O. Smith high school in Storrs when he blistered the Panthers – and future UCONN Husky Tyler Olander – with three after three in a huge 56-53 Eastern victory on February 19, 2010. 

The team in 2014-15 holds the record for threes made in a season at 141 with Daron McCoy, the current leader career 3s made for the Lancers, and George Taylor III who each finished the year with 57 3-pointers. 

And currently, senior Elijah Parent is second all-time in threes made at Eastern and will be No. 1 by the end of this season (stay tuned to TBE over the next couple months for the record breaking details). 

The Lancers flipped in 119 three-pointers last year and the program has made 2,673 since the three-point line was installed on the hardwood in the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium. 

For the girls at Eastern, three 3-point baskets saw an even a slower burn. 

Head coach Tony Floyd rarely had players shooting 3s and the earliest player to drop in long range hoops was Ginny Ziogas – canning four of her six career 3-pointers in 1990-91. 

Elijah Parent’s mother, Bevin Borajkiewicz, connected on 14 makes in 1994-95 as a senior before Traci Tycz (63 three-pointers over her final two seasons in 1997-99) started to see Eastern uptick in its three-point attempts – and makes. 

Then Laura Robbins (33 threes as a sophomore in 2000-01), Taylor Losey (29 as a senior in 2005-06), Allie Camden (26 in 2006-07), and Briana Redman, who hit a then record six 3-pointers back on February 4, 2010 against Middletown, all gave opponents heartburn with accuracy and ability from deep. 

Then fast forward to the present, Hannah Maghini – currently playing ball at Western CT State University – hit 80 3-pointers, including a school record seven against New Britain on January 17, 2017, over her final two campaigns between 2016-18 and is the all-time leader in three-pointers made at BE. 

And over the past two scholastic seasons, Ciara Collins – a jack-of-all-trades-hoopster – canned sixty total threes and even forward/center Sage Scarritt turned herself into a 33-percent shooter from deep, understanding the need for front-court players to hit shots from long range to keep defenses honest.  

Three-pointers have always been a staple for the Bristol Central boys basketball squad and jumping from season to season, you could see the use of the three-ball grow. 

The successful squad of 2002-03 loved taking 3s and between D.J. Hernandez (55) and Mike Cifone (37), the duo helped the program can 99 total long bombs that season. 

One year later, Steve Hasler canned 38 while Hernandez dropped in a team-high 48 while in 2004-05, the team hit an identical 98 3s with Billy Ghio notching 50 to lead the squad. 

In 2012-13, Joey DeFillippi (44) and Nick Prentiss (42) canned 86 total threes while the team collected 132 overall. 

Central was one 3-point better the season after with DeFillippi (48) and Manny Severino (43) leading the charge while over the 2017-18 campaign, Noah Plantamuro drained a blistering 65 three-pointers as Central hit 128 overall. 

And just last season at Central, the squad flashed in 115 three-pointers with Shane Ouellette (31), Austin Brown (25), Sean Wininger (16) and even Donovan Clingan (three) splashing in trifectas. 

Clingan can and will shoot from the outside – something centers in 2021 will need to be able to do instead of just plopping down in the paint, looking for high-percentage hoops and dunks. 

Those nifty shooting skills get special players to the next level…and beyond.