As the final buzzer sounded last Saturday, Andover Boys Basketball found itself tied at 57 with Deerfield. Deerfield took an early lead in overtime, but Andover refused to give up and ground out 10 straight points to win the game with a final score of 67-60.
“It was a great team win,” said Co-Captain Ryan Hartung ’12. “I think this game was a wake up call for us in two ways. First, we know we can’t afford to be sloppy at any point of the game or risk losing, no matter how great our lead is. Second, it showed that we can win close games and gives us confidence to do it in the future.”
The game was tense throughout, and by the overtime period Deerfield fans were bursting with excitement. It was a scene to behold, and Andover player Sahil Bhaiwala ’13 was in awe. He said, “The Deerfield fans contributed to the excitement of the game. Towards the end, the gym was packed, and their fans were very involved in the game. As a player, any time there is a rowdy crowd the pressure builds, and the suspense of the game heightens.”
As they have been all year, Co-Captains Hartung and Thomas Palleschi ’12 were instrumental in Andover’s success. Hartung finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Palleschi finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.
Hartung said, “On offense, we really wanted to get the ball inside to Palleschi to make Deerfield double him. When they did, he was able to find our open shooters, and we were able to convert.”
Andover was without starting point guard Labaron Sylvester ’12, but Brendan O’Connell ’13 and Bhaiwala stepped up in his absence, with O’Connell scoring nine points and Bhaiwala finishing with six assists.
Most importantly, Andover was able to buckle down defensively when it needed to. Christian Jaster ’12 said, “On defense, we did not want to give them open shots since they had a couple of decent shooters. The longer we played, the better we got, especially defensively. On crucial possessions, they did not get good looks and missed their shots, giving us the chance to increase our lead.”
On Wednesday against Cushing, Andover did not play to the same level. Cushing took an enormous lead straight from the beginning, holding a 30 point lead by the middle of the game. Andover improved its game in the second half, however, and eventually cut Cushing’s lead down to 79-61 by the end of the game.
Despite the tough loss, Hartung and O’Connell both played very well in the game, scoring 20 and 14 points respectively. O’Connell showed pinpoint accuracy throughout, shooting four for four from behind the arc.
Andover looks to improve on its 6-6 record this Friday at Worcester Academy.
