Playing without its two leading scorers, the Brunswick School basketball team had little margin for error in its NEPSAC matchup against a strong, deep Suffield Academy squad on Wednesday.

For the first eight minutes of the first half the Bruins seemed primed to meet their tough challenge, as they held a four-point lead, while displaying solid defense and effective ball movement.

Then came a long, decisive Suffield Academy run – one the Bruins couldn’t stop for numerous minutes.

Visiting Suffield went on a 20-0 run, which it further stretched to 25-2 on its way to recording a 64-43 win over the Bruins. Brunswick’s record stands at 6-6 on the season. They are playing FAA foe Hamden Hall Country Day School on the road today.

The Bruins faced Suffield without the services of senior guard Tristan Joseph and junior forward Wyatt Triestman, both of whom have powered the team offensively. Triestman and Joseph are averaging nearly 20 points per game this season and have been difficult for each foe to contend with.

However, the 6-foot-7 Triestman severely sprained his left ankle in a recent game and will most likely be sidelined the remainder of the season. Triestman, a 6-3 guard, rolled his ankle in a recent practice and could be back in action soon.

“Tristan is coming back, Wyatt unfortunately, will be out for the year,” Brunswick coach Steve Juricek said. “In their absence, we have a lot of great athletes on the court, a lot of strong kids, so they need to step up and everybody knows it starts with energy for us. They have to play as hard as they can for that amount of time.”

Forward Matty Augustine scored a season-high 14 points for the Bruins, who also received 12 points from guard Malik Samms and 10 from 6-10 center Jon Sigurdsson.

Sigurdsson scored off a putback, then made a basket off a strong low post move, giving Brunswick a 14-10 lead with 7:58 left in the first half. Then Suffield got rolling. At the 6:15 mark of the first half, a 3-pointer by guard Francis Donelan gave the visitors the lead for good a 16-14.

Guard Henry White scored off two straight layups, following Brunswick turnovers, putting Suffield ahead, 20-14 with 5:50 to go in the opening half. With 2:37 to go in the first half, a dunk in transition by Harrison Hochberg capped Suffield’s 20-0 run, giving it a 30-14 advantage.

“We had a couple of lapses, but all the credit to them,” Juricek said. “They shot the ball really well against that zone we were playing. They moved the ball and created open looks.”

Trailing 35-20 at halftime, the Bruins started the second half strong, cutting Suffield’s advantage to 39-27. Sigurdsson threw down a dunk, Augustine scored in the low post and Samms made a pair of layups, as the Bruins closed to within 12 points.

Yet another sizeable run sealed the win for Salisbury, which was led by Hochberg’s 17 points and White’s 10-point effort. Eight different players scored for the victors. Guard Charlie Johnson contributed three points for the Bruins, who had to quickly get over the loss and get mentally ready for today’s important FAA matchup against Hamden Hall.

“We have Hamden Hall away, no time to dwell,” Juricek said. “If we play the way we did today in terms of heart and energy I think we can be in any game.”

The Bruins coach was pleased with the team’s overall hustle and effort.

“It was one of those things where we cut into it a little bit and then they hit a bucket or two and it was right back where it was, so we were running in place,” Juricek said. “I thought everybody came out there and played as hard as they could. Matty Augustine was really big for us today, from being on the glass and getting big rebounds to sparking us with energy.”