By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – There’s a lot to unpack when the Bristol Eastern (1-1) and Bristol Central (1-2) boys basketball programs duke it out for the first time this season on Tuesday night.
The showdown, from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m., should be a good one and a competitive city series bout.
It’s time for some early season bragging rights and here’s what fans from Bristol Eastern should be looking for on the court during the first night of action from the Bristol Central Holiday Classic:
Players to Watch – Bristol Eastern
Brayden Dauphinais (jr, forward), Lukas Sward (jr, guard/forward), Nate Fries (sr, forward), Ben D’Amato (jr, shooting guard), Zaveyn Tate (so, forward), Dante DePass (so, guard), Jordan Chisholm (so, guard), Isaiah Lawrence-Bynum (jr, forward), Naseem Walker-Jenkins (so, guard).
Spotlight on Bristol Eastern: Dauphinais and Sward
Dauphinais had a monster game against Hall the other night, breaking out for a career-high 26 points.
For the season, the scorer averages 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.0 steals-per-game.
He’s shown ability to shoot from deep and is nearly an 80-percent free throw shooter.
Dauphinais isn’t afraid of the big shot and is looking to lead the squad back to the state tournament picture for the first time since 2016.
The forward is joined by point guard Lukas Sward (9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals) and when he runs the show with poise, success follows.
He currently shoots 50 percent from the field and had a tremendous game from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium during Christmas play against Wolcott last year.
Sward has quick hands and his six steals against Wolcott was a career-high effort.
Eastern won that consolation game 58-38 over the Eagles back on Dec. 30 which was the program’s first win that season.
The Dauphinais/Sward combination is a good one and Central needs to focus on the duo or risk losing for the third time this year.
Under-the-radar Guy: Nate Fries
The senior forward is the leader of the program and his toughness is most definitely needed this year.
He’ll body underneath the rim to get his share of rebounds (4.0 per-game), has three-point shooting ability and averaged just a shade under 6.0 ppg to date.
Fries has blocked a shot in every game this year and has quick hands for steals.
The senior has plenty of heart and desire and he’ll be one of the reasons why the Lancers could flip the Rams on Tuesday.
Watch out for: Zaveyn Tate
Once this sophomore forward starts to put his offensive game together, the phrase that pays is “watch out.”
He already plays a ton on the court, averaging 26.5 minutes-per-game, while posting a team leading 9.5 rebounds an outing.
His 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals-per-game are a timely contribution and he knows who to get the ball to.
That 3.5 points-per-game average will improve by the contest and expect Tate to be one of the Lancers’ featured players come the end of the season.
Bottom Line: Three-point shooting
Each member of the Lancers’ starting five can shoot and hit three-pointers.
Yes, Central can say the same, but when those long-range bombs are falling for the Kingstreeters, no lead is safe.
Off the pine, sophomores Dante DePass (6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Jordan Chisholm (4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) aren’t afraid to chuck up threes and in that starting line-up, junior Ben D’Amato can heat up as well and has a pretty stroke.
If Central’s defense can snuff out those shots, the Rams have a good chance in this one.
But the bottom line is that Eastern wants to finally hang a loss on Central for the first time since a certain UConn center’s freshman’s campaign for the Rams.
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