Sports

Boys Basketball Rides Three Game Win Streak

In the team’s last home game of the season this past Saturday, Andover Boys Basketball soundly defeated St. Sebastian’s 78-41. The team also beat Tabor last Wednesday and Thayer last Friday.

Led by Jake Howell ’14, Andover overpowered St. Sebastian’s in all aspects of the game and consistently made well-positioned shots from outside the key.

“The victory [against St. Sebastian’s] was a total team effort. We were up most of the game, but in the second half we ran away with it, with contributions from all ten players,” said Germaine Wright ’14.

With Andover up 45-33 and 10:21 remaining in the game, Greg Devlin ’14 nailed a shot from behind the arc. Richard McAllister ’13 then drew a shooting foul and knocked down two free throws.

Howell then went on a scoring run, contributing 12 points to Andover’s lead within a span of five minutes. Howell’s run began with a breakaway layup after a steal by Nate Meehan ’14 and finished with two three-pointers.

Later on, Wright also had a scoring run, scoring 10 points in five minutes.

“I just let the game come to me and tried to focus on defense while my teammates found me for some good shots,” said Wright.

Kene Adigwe ’14 also played a crucial role in the game by finding his teammates at key moments. In one play, Adigwe crossed over two St. Sebastian players while dribbling the ball behind his back and then sunk a stepback jumper from the corner of the key.

JJ Hayward ’13 was vocal throughout the second half. He set up his teammates on defense and called for the ball when needed on offense. Hayward also drew multiple charging fouls and allowed Andover to regain possession.

Hayward’s ability to draw charging fouls proved vital in forcing St. Sebastian players to take low-percentage shots from beyond the arc early in the shot clock.

On Friday night, Andover defeated Thayer 57-39. On Wednesday, the team continued its offensive prowess and defeated Tabor 66-59. The win against Tabor was especially important because the team had lost to Tabor earlier in the season 73-66.

Andover looks to build on its three game winning streak on Thursday when the team travels to Brooks.