No. 2 Lewis Mills explodes in third quarter to eliminate Masuk

Eli Pelletier led Lewis Mills with 22 points in Thursday night’s CIAC Division III victory in Burlington.

Eli Pelletier scored 22 points while Connor Evans had 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the No. 2 Lewis Mills boys basketball team advanced in the CIAC Division III tournament Thursday night with a 68-50 victory in a second round game in Burlington.

The Spartans (17-5) advance to Monday’s quarterfinal game against No. 26 Maloney (10-12) in Burlington at 6:30 p.m.

Tristan Mooney had 10 points and five assists for Mills, which turned a one-point halftime lead into a 20-point lead after three quarters. Mills outscored Masuk by 19 points in the third quarter, 30-11.

This will be the second meeting of the season between Lewis Mills and Maloney. Mills prevailed in the first meeting of the CCC South rivals on February 2, 64-44.

With two victories, including getting a buzzer-beating shot to beat No. 7 Stonington, 68-67 in the first round, Maloney is making their first quarterfinal appearance since 2016.

Lewis Mills 68, Masuk 50
At Burlington
Masuk (50) Mitch DeBernardo 1-2-5, Alex Simouldis 0-0-0, Colin Fransisco 1-0-3, Tyler Newsome 3-7-13, Ethan Palma 6-3-15, Matt Domichelli 3-0-6, Malaki Roy 0-0-0, Oliver Irving 3-2-8, Totals 22-13-68
Lewis Mills (68) Gavin Daly 0-0-0, Charlie Joiner 3-2-9, Tristan Mooney 5-0-10, Eli Pelletier 5-7-22, Brett Harding 2-0-6, Logan Carrano 0-0-0, Anthony D’lorio 0-0-0, Tommy Dinunzio 2-2-6, Jack Nestor 1-0-2, Gage Kosak 0-0-0, Connor Evans 5-2-13, Max Dinunzio 0-0-0, Ethan Braddock 0-0-0, Totals 22-13-68
Masuk (12-10)              9  13  11  17  — 50
Lewis Mills (17-5)      11  12  30  15  — 68
Three-point goals: DeBernardo (M), Fransisco (M), Joiner (LM), Evans (LM)