When the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team needed something big to happen in the final seconds of both games of the Bristol Eastern Holiday Tournament, Elijah Borgelin had the ball.
Both times, Borgelin provided the game-winning points in Lancer victories. Borgelin sank two foul shots with 5.1 seconds left on Monday night to push Eastern past Avon, 59-57, in the championship game. He scored 17 points, two off of the pace set by the team-high of 19 from Elijah Parent.
“It’s our first time doing it,” Lancers coach Bunty Ray said in an interview with Elliott Polakoff of WFSB Channel 3 after the game. “I’m proud of the kids, I’m proud of the effort that they put out. It’s a great gift for the holidays.”
In Eastern’s first game against Lewis Mills, Borgelin’s layup with 1.2 seconds remaining gave the home team a 47-45 victory. He had just five points in the game, but the last two were the biggest scored on Saturday night. Trini Otero led the Lancers with 13 points.
Eastern improved to 3-1 with the wins over Lewis Mills and Avon. The Lancers will begin 2020 with five straight home games. The first is on Friday against Hartford Public at 6:45 p.m.
