By Michael Letendre

MERIDEN – The Bristol Eastern boys basketball squad was overwhelmed in its Central Connecticut Conference, Southern division showdown at Platt on Thursday but showed a little gumption to end the contest – absorbing a tough 73-62 loss in Meriden.

The Panthers (4-3) moved over .500 in the winning effort while the Lancers fell to 2-6.

Platt’s transition defense led to several early hoops for the home squad – turning Eastern miscues into points – as the Panthers built an imposing 16-1 edge with 3:26 left to go in the first period with its anticipation and athleticism. 

“Obviously, that’s an explosive team,” said Eastern coach Bunty Ray of Platt. “And if you’re not making shots, they’re making you pay. When you defend them in the half-court, you’ve got help. When you’re in the open court, you’re on an island. I was very disappointed in the way we got back in transition defense. A lot of the teams we’ve been playing haven’t run out like that, so it was kind of like wow, we haven’t had to do that in a while.”

“The run in the beginning was the difference in the game.”

Platt’s Makhai Anderson blasted home 28 points, Anthony Nimani added 18, Justin Black netted 11 while Juan Dancy posted nine over the winning effort.

“They have a lot of answers,” said Ray of Platt. “Stopping them is going to be a chore.”

But even as the Panthers built a 27-point cushion (57-30) with 2:55 left in the third period, the Lancers ended the contest with a blazing 32-16 run even as Platt starters remained in the contest throughout.

The Kingstreeters blasted in a season-high 13 three-pointers, led by Nasir Walker-Jenkins as he canned four-of-five threes on his way to 12 points and four assists.

Brayden Dauphinais flipped in 10 points and blocked two shots, Ben D’Amato hit 3-of-5 3s for nine points while dishing out three assists while senior Jeremiah Tatum had his best game at BE – notching eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes off the pine.

Lukas Sward added seven points and four assists, Elijah Borgelin flipped up six points, six rebounds and three assists, Nate Fries nabbed five points and five rebounds, Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum had three points and six rebounds while Dante DePass added two points and a couple rebounds.

“I had to play everybody. That game, with that pace was insane,” said Ray. “You had to make sure we had everybody playing and you know what, good for them. Over the time of COVID and everything else, with our guys out [with] injuries or whatever, I’ve been able to play different guys. And now their acclimated. I can go a little deeper on the bench. That’s good for us.”

“There’s still going to be mistakes out there because we’re young but at least it gives us a chance to put them in there and learn.”

Eastern hit 46-percent of its field goals overall, dropping in 15-of-28 shots after the half, while the visitors defense limited the Panthers to 11-of-30 shooting over the final two quarters (36.7-percent).

Trailing by 15 midway through the first, Walker-Jenkins and D’Amato hit threes, but Anderson canned two late hoops as Platt held a 24-11 push through eight minutes.

The Panthers opened the second stanza with 13 straight points to construct a 37-11 lead, but Tatum hit back-to-back three-point bombs while Lawrence-Bynum and Borgelin dropped in late hoops and at the half, Eastern trailed 46-21.

However, the Lancers won the next two quarters to make a game out of it. 

“We talked about what we needed to do before the game and in practice the last two days,’ said Ray. “I said ‘guys, there’s no magic plays out here tonight. It’s going to be basketball. It’s going to be flashing in the middle of the court, looking down and attacking.’ We were very passive, and you saw that led to them going down and scoring baskets as opposed to turning and attacking.”

“Once we started flashing in the middle, turning, and running the court, we were dangerous in transition. That was a learning experience, we play them again and hopefully, we could do that a little more consistently.”

Eastern trailed 57-30 midway through the third but the Lancers ended the frame via an 8-2 run as Walker canned another 3 and when D’Amato found DePass for a baseline jumper, Platt led 59-38 but Eastern was still on the move.

With Platt starters in the mix, Eastern drained six threes over a stretch of five-plus minutes to frustrate the home team.

Sward, Walker-Jenkins and Dauphinais all hit trifectas in the fourth while D’Amato connected on back-to-back 3s – his second trimming the deficit to 73-59 with 1:15 left.

And Fries ended the showdown with one final three as Eastern lost the war but won the half – outscoring Platt 41-27 – which left Platt head coach Shawon Moncrief disappointed despite the 73-62 win over Eastern.

“We’re showing glimpses of being good,” said Ray. “Then all of a sudden, something falls apart and it’s hard to recover. I will say this, the best part of that game for us today was when we go into halftime and we’re getting beaten up pretty good. We came out in the second half and there was no quit. That’s what you really look for.”

“You look for a team that doesn’t quit.”