The search for a win continues for Andover Boys Basketball as shooting struggles led to two more losses this past week. Choate traveled up to Andover this past Saturday for what would turn out to be a very evenly matched game. However, Andover came out on the losing end once again. Captain Khalid McCaskill ’10 took control of the game early, especially on the defensive end, as he swiped away two steals and powerfully rejected two Choate shots. Andover consistently made defensive stops, but could not connect on the offensive end of the floor. Coach Leon Modeste said, “We have been playing really great defense, we just are not making our shots, and that has been the difference for us.” The game went back and forth, with several lead changes. At halftime, Andover was down by three, well within reach of its first victory. Andover missed shot after shot to open the second half, and the team quickly found itself behind by a substantial amount. Despite the great defense, the team ended up losing, 44-55. Thomas Palleschi ’12 converted a double-double, snatching 11 boards and scoring 13 points. Despite the points, Palleschi has struggled to convert on short attempts thus far this season. If the team is going to turn the season around, Palleschi is going to have to find a way for these shots to fall. McCaskill also had another great game, bringing down nine rebounds to accompany his 11 points. However, shooting was teh team’s downfall in thsi game. Coach Modeste said, “We are keeping our opponents to 50 something points every game, and that should be enough to win us a basketball game, but we can not seem to put the ball in the basket.” Hoping it would regain its shooting ability, Andover traveled to Kimball Union Academy for what would end as another upsetting loss. For the most part, Andover played well, but once again, the team could not hit shots from the floor. “It was the same exact thing as the Choate game. We just cannot find a way to score the basketball,” said Coach Modeste. Sloppy and careless play also contributed to Andover’s lossin this game, as turnovers led to easy scoring opportunities for KUA. Andover usually tries to play at a low-tempo pace. Against KUA, Andover found itself caught up playing Kimball Union’s faster paced, full court game. Coach Modeste said, “Team’s like [KUA] who play real scrappy defense cause some trouble for us, because we are not an especially quick team. We need to shorten up the game and play the kind of game that we are good at.” Once again, most of the scoring came from McCaskill and Palleschi, scoring 13 and 14 respectively. Andover will continue to search for a win agaainst tabor and Governer’s this week.
