Expectations were high for Friday night's boys basketball clash at Enfield High School, as the unbeaten Raiders hosted undefeated Coventry.
Fans looking forward to a tense struggle between the top two teams in the NCCC were instead quickly shown why Enfield was a Class M semifinalist last season, with even loftier hopes this year.
The Raiders raced to early leads of 7-0 and 12-4, then a Hugh Lindo dunk sparked a 17-0 run in a four-minute span that put the game out of reach by the midway point of the second quarter.
By the time the smoke cleared, three Raiders had scored in double figures as Enfield coasted to a 65-35 victory to maintain its perfect record.
"Coventry is better than what they showed tonight," Enfield head coach Cory O'Connell said. "I'm sure we'll see them down the road again in the conference tournament. They had an off night, and we had a really good night. That's the team I know we can be, that's the team I push these kids to be, and they played really well tonight."
Trachone Preston singlehandedly outscored Coventry in the first half, netting 16 points as the Raiders posted a 37-12 halftime lead. He played sparingly after intermission, finishing with a game-high 21 points.
Lindo and Paul Lima each contributed 15 points for the Raiders, who led by as much as 39 before the Patriots finished the game with an 11-2 spurt against the Enfield reserves.
Tommy Myers was the only Coventry player in double figures, tallying 19 points.
Both teams return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. Enfield (7-0) hosts Bolton, while Coventry (6-1) travels to Somers.
Scoring Summary
Coventry - Taylor Vann 0 1 1, Tommy Myers 7 3 19, Nicolai Vanek 3 0 7, Colin Delaney 1 0 2, Justin Lindinger 1 1 3, Mike Dolan 1 0 3. Totals 13 5 35.
Three-point goals: Myers (2), Vanek, Dolan.
Enfield - Tony Romano 2 0 4, Hugh Lindo 7 1 15, Paul Lima 6 0 15, Josh Gaines 1 0 2, Rachone Preston 4 0 8, Trachone Preston 8 3 21. Totals 28 4 65.
Three-point goals: Lima (3), T. Preston (2).
Score By Quarters
Coventry 4 8 12 11 - 35
Enfield 17 20 21 7 - 65
