Steve Koenig ’10 knocked down five three-pointers to propel Andover to a 66-52 win over Tabor on Monday. This was the team’s only victory in a busy four game week. Andover could not be stopped from behind the three-point arc, as the team sank ten shots from long range. “Just like Brooks couldn’t miss against us, we couldn’t miss against Tabor,” Coach Leon Modeste said. Andover passed quickly and accurately, giving shooters open looks, which translated to lots of easy points for the team. Both Tom Hamel ’10 and Thomas Palleschi ’12 controlled the boards, as both big men denied Brooks second chance points. Defensively, Andover smothered Brooks for most of the game, especially in the first half, holding Tabor to just 20 points at halftime. Tabor rallied to score a few late buckets, but Andover was able to maintain the lead to earn its sixth win of the season. Earlier in the week, Andover traveled to Brooks and came home with a 75-67 loss on Thursday. Andover played well, especially in the offensive zone, putting a high number on the scoreboard, but Brooks simplyplayed a better game. “They had a lot of fast-break opportunities, and they also got to the foul line early in the second half and shot very well, so that hurt us,” Tom Hamel ’10 said. Andover could not stop Brooks’ excellent shooting. “They just shot the lights out against us, and we can’t really control that,” Coach Modeste said. Despite Brooks’ great play, Andover was able to go on a 13-3 run at the end of the first half to take a six point lead into halftime. The lead quickly evaporated, as Brooks came out firing in the second half. With Brooks seemingly hitting every shot, Andover could not keep up. Captain Khalid McCaskill ’10 was the leading scorer for Andover dropping 18 points, followed by Palleschi who had 14 and Ryan Hartung ’12 with 12 points. The team lost again to Brimmer & May, 77-53. Brimmer was just more athletic and more skilled than Andover. “We played pretty well, but Brimmer & May is a powerhouse in this league, so we weren’t able to do too much,” Coach Modeste said. Andover did play a solid game despite the loss, showing some real signs of improvement especially against a great opponent like Brimmer. Andover’s biggest problem was turnovers. “For some reason we had a hard time breaking their press, which is uncharacteristic for us and led to some untimely turnovers. We can’t expect to win when that happens,” said Hamel. Palleschi ’12 emerged as the leading scorer with 16 points, followed by McCaskill ’10 with 12, and Brendan O’Connell ’13 who netted two three-pointers for a season high six points. To conclude the week, Andover faced off against an evenly matched Deerfield opponent. Earlier in the season, Andover had the upper hand coming home with a six point win. In this game, however, Andover lost a heartbreaker 54-52. After going into halftime down by just one point, Andover exploded out of halftime with a 14-3 run to pull ahead by ten. Deerfield chipped away at Andover’s lead and tied the game with 20 seconds left. Deerfield then hit a buzzer beater for the win. Andover faces Exter Saturday at home.
