BY CHARLIE ADAMS, TSM LEAD WRITER
(Cranston, R.I.) The Thunderbolts came into their Tuesday night matchup against Barrington on a two-game skid while their opponent held a two-game hot streak. However, the losses came against Central and LaSalle High School, staples in the RIIL. Both teams are not easy to take on anytime, never mind facing them back to back. Despite this, Cranston East showed to be true competition for Central, leading after three quarters but ultimately falling to the Knights, 61-59. Trying to build off of a strong performance in a tough matchup against the Eagles, Bolts’ turnovers and Barrington shooting killed them as they fell, 80-65.
Cranston East spread scoring amongst a few top scorers, led by Naz Milien’s 19 points. Davien Barry and Lorenzo Flores also contributed with 12, and 11, respectively.
Rough passing from the ‘Bolts put them down early, and long passes often turned into easy turnovers early on. Despite this, Lorenzo Flores led four scoring ‘Bolts with 5 points, putting the deficit at 20-15. Barrington’s Nicholas Scandura had 14 of his team’s points at the end of the period.
The Thunderbolts cleaned up their passing in the second, but their improved ball movement was canceled out by Barrington’s scoring from deep. The consistent threes allowed the Eagles to increase their lead to eight points as they entered halftime leading 39-31. In this period, Sean Bonneau dominated from beyond the arc, hitting three more bombs to give him five at halftime and 17 points overall.
Cranston East came into the second half with energy, but maybe too much. The Thunderbolts tried to fit passes into much too dangerous windows and paid the price once again. Naz Milien’s 7-point quarter wasn’t enough to make a dent in Barrington’s sharpshooting, the score sat 60-48 with a quarter left to play. Scandura picked up the pace again for the Eagles, scoring 11 of their 21 in the period.
T he Eagles continued to let the threes fly, putting the game out of reach in the fourth. Scandura finished with a game-high 31 points, while Bonneau chipped in 25 in an impressive display of a deadly inside-outside combo. The game full of Thunderbolt turnovers mercifully came to an end, a blowout 80-65 loss to a solid Barrington Squad.
The Thunderbolts will have to wait until Thursday night to take the court again in search of a win. They’ll travel to meet the Sentinels of Smithfield for a 7 PM tip-off.
To keep up on all things regarding Thunderbolt sports, go to www.tbsportsmedia.com and @tbsportsmedia on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.