The Bristol Central, foreground, and Bristol Eastern, background, boys basketball teams warm up during a break in the Bristol Central Holiday Tournament on Friday. The teams played in the nightcap, which the Lancers won, 56-55, in overtime.
The Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern boys basketball teams provided a terrific ending to a strong first day of the Bristol Central Holiday Tournament on Friday in the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium.
The teams needed overtime, and Naseem Walker gave the visiting Lancers a 56-55 win over the Rams on a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining. Quincy Lawson had just given Central a 55-53 lead with seven seconds left on a tip-in. The teams had begun a low-scoring overtime with dueling 3-pointers.
Zaveyn Tate scored a game-high 22 points for Eastern (3-1). Jordan Chisholm added 14 points and Walker tallied eight points. Joey Pikiell led three Central (1-3) scorers in double figures with 13 points. Lawson and Gavin Chamberlain added 12 points apiece.
The Rams scored the game’s first 11 points and led by the same margin, 17-6, after one quarter. The Lancers ripped off 10 straight points to open the second quarter before a Pikiell 3-pointer put the Rams ahead, 20-16. Central turned a two-point lead into a seven-point advantage at halftime, 27-20. Eastern won the third quarter, 19-12, to even the game at 39 after three quarters. The contest was tied, 50-50, at the end of regulation.
Eastern faces Capital Prep at 7 p.m. Monday in the holiday tournament final. Central, which will be coming off of three straight overtime games, takes on Terryville in the consolation contest at 4 p.m. The game in between is the girls final between Central and Farmington at 5:30 p.m.
GALLERY: Here are my photos from Friday at the tournament.
