By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – For over twenty-four minutes against Simsbury on Thursday, the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team had the Trojans’ collective number.

However, the undefeated Trojans made all the big plays late.

Trailing by five with 7:27 to play, Simsbury scored 15 straight points to nab ultimate control of the game as the Lancers fell by a 45-36 final in a very competitive bout in a CCC Interdivisional showdown from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.

Still without its ‘A’ line-up on the floor due to COVID, the Lancers (1-5) showed tremendous poise over the first three periods, slowing things down and running offense efficiently before the Trojans (4-0) canned 8-of-10 field goals over fourth period play to steal the game away from the locals.

“You can’t go shot for shot, possession for possession over thirty-minutes [with Simsbury] so that’s why we held the ball a little bit, spread the court, [and was] very patient on offense,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray. “We weren’t holding the ball. What we were doing was waiting for a defensive mistake and that’s a very good defensive team. To our credit, not like we were doing before the season, we weren’t trying to force bad shot opportunities. We just moved the ball until we got what we wanted.” 

Eastern showed balance on offense as Nasir Walker-Jenkins led the squad with 10 points and four assists, Elijah Borgelin added a season-high nine points, five rebounds, and four assists – hitting 3-of-3 three-pointers – Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum added eight points and Ben D’Amato continued his hot streak off the bench, canning two 3s for six points.

“I thought Bynum did a great job stepping in,” said Ray. “I thought Elijah Borgelin was able to knock down a couple big shots.”

Simsbury’s Chris Kokines notched a game-high 17 points while teammate Aiden Riordan added 14.

Over the last two games, the Lancers have been outshot at the foul line by opponents, 34-6.

Trailing 32-27 early in the fourth frame, Simsbury used its superior size and a little pick-and-roll action to take the lead for good.

And when Riordan cashed in on an offensive rebound – making it a 34-32 contest in Simsbury’s favor with 6:07 remaining in the game – Eastern never drew even again. 

“We don’t have a guy that’s going to break down a defense completely. We don’t have an inside guy,” said Ray. “So we have to really work the ball to get our shots. In doing so, I thought the turnovers were very limited today. I thought the shots were very good. I can’t complain.”

“The only thing that kills us is on the defensive end, not for lack of effort, was we just didn’t have answers for a couple things Simsbury did.”

Eastern shot well from the field, hitting 15-of-32 hoops (46.9-percent) while dropping in five 3s to frustrate the Trojans early and often.

The Kingstreeters had 12 assists on 15 baskets and that ball movement saw the locals get good shooting opportunities throughout the contest.

“I thought we shared the ball pretty well today,” said Ray. “We moved the ball. I like to see some other guys get a little more selfish and try to take some shots. Right now, I only have a couple guys looking to score. But hopefully as we develop over the season, those guys will feel confident.”

It was back-and-forth over the first period but when Eastern’s Lukas Sward hit a lay-up and Borgelin canned a 3 with five seconds to go in the quarter, the Lancers snared a 10-7 edge through eight minutes of play.

The squads traded the lead early in the second stanza but on an 8-3 Eastern burst – highlighted by a baseline 3 from Borgelin – the Lancers edged ahead by a 15-11 push with 4:21 left in the half.

A late Walker-Jenkins floater was answered by a blistering 3-point bomb from Kokines and at the half, Eastern’s deliberate pace saw the teams all knotted up at 17-17.

Simsbury took the lead out of the third period gate but Eastern refused to yield.

On the power of an Eastern 10-4 burst, Walker-Jenkins scored on two consecutive lay-ups and D’Amato drained two straight 3s to end the third as Eastern was in good shape at 30-25 with one quarter left.

Ahead by three, Sward found Lawrence-Bynum for his third hoop of the game and with 7:27 left, Eastern led 32-27.

From there, Simsbury quickly chipped away at the deficit, drew even and eventually went ahead via a 44-34 cushion with 2:30 remaining.

“They were able to get the ball inside on us in a mismatch,” said Ray of Simsbury. “We weren’t trying to switch the screens on certain plays. We just blew an assignment and all of a sudden, they got the ball down [low] against a guard. They were able to curl their best player [Kokines]. He was in foul trouble in the first half. In the second half [and] he really took over the game. It was fortunate for us he didn’t play much in the first half.”

“In the second half, he really showed up.”

Eastern never gave in as Walker-Jenkins hit a lay-up to trim the deficit to eight late but Simsbury played keep away over the final two minutes of the game.

Lawrence-Bynum hit a late hoop but the Lancers just ran out of gas, falling by a 45-36 final to drop to 1-5 overall.

“I thought the ball movement was fine. I thought the shots were fine,” said Ray. “It’s just not going to be a high volume with us. If we’re not going to, once again get on the [foul] line or if we’re not going to get inside, we’ve got to make sure we work. I was thrilled with the way we played. It’s just unfortunate at the end when a little run stops us from being able to keep that game closer.”

“I think Nasir and Ben had [shots] go in and out. Those two go in, now we’re within two possessions or three possessions and [the game is] different.”

BRISTOL EASTERN BOYS BASKETBALL

SIMSBURY 45, BRISTOL EASTERN 36

from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, Bristol

Simsbury (4-0)7 10 8 20 – 45

Bristol Eastern (1-5)10 7 13 6 – 36

SIMSBURY (45): Anthony Simpson 1 0 2, Aiden Riordan 7 0 14, Kennan Willison 1 0 2, Chris Kokines 6 4 17, Alex Pepper 2 0 6, Nate Beijer 1 2 4. Totals; 18 6 45.

BRISTOL EASTERN (36): Nate Fries 0 1 1, Lukas Sward 1 0 2, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum 4 0 8, Elijah Borgelin 3 0 9, Nasir Walker-Jenkins 5 0 10, Ben D’Amato 2 0 6, Jeremiah Tatum 0 0 0, Preston Guarda 0 0 0. Totals: 15 1 36.

Three-point goals: Chris Kokines (S), Alex Pepper (S) 2, Elijah Borgelin (BE) 3, Ben D’Amato (BE) 2.

Records: Simsbury 4-0 overall; Bristol Eastern 1-5