In Andover’s win over Milton, Matt Wesoloski ’16 posted a double-double with 13 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Wesoloski’s all-around effort, paired with a strong 3-point shooting performance from Sam Jefferson ’16, who made four 3-pointers, led Andover to a comfortable victory over Milton.
Andover played three games over this past week. On Friday, Andover triumphed over Milton, 66-53, at home. The next day, the team lost to Tabor, 57-47. On Wednesday, Governor’s bested Andover 53-52. With the win and two losses, Andover’s record fell to 4-8.
Andover came out firing against Milton. Energized by the backing of the large crowd, the team almost built a 30-point cushion in the first half. Every starter and multiple substitutes had strong contributions on both sides of the court. Andover entered the half with a 36-19 lead.
In the second half, Andover’s offense grew stagnant, largely due to a substantial amount of Andover fouls on the defensive end. Andover Co-Captains Danny Evans ’16 and Andrew Reavis ’17 both fouled out around the three minute mark, which allowed Milton, fueled by its 3-point shooting, to make a dent in Andover’s lead. Fortunately, Andover’s stout defense prevailed over Milton and helped hold the team’s lead until the end. With the win, Andover extended its home winning streak to two games.
Reavis said, “In the game against Milton, we moved the ball really well. In the first half, we took care of the ball – although, in the second half we didn’t do as good of a job. We kinda let them back into the game, but I think ultimately, by moving the ball as well as we did and also getting ourselves a lot of second-chance points off of offensive rebounds, we were able to hold on for the win with defense.”
Next, Andover played its New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A rival, Tabor. Tabor came into the game with a 5-0 league record and looked to maintain its winning ways. Andover, eager to spoil the day, came out with ferocity.
Strong first-half performances from Hallvard Lundevall ’16, Wesoloski and Reavis helped Andover keep pace with Tabor’s highly-physical team.
Andover maintained its strong ball movement from previous games and combined it with an energetic defensive performance. Heading into the second half, Andover led 24-22.
With 4:30 left in the game, however, Andover was unable to stop a 10-0 Tabor run, relinquishing its lead for the rest of the game before falling 57-47.
Going into the game against Governor’s, Andover was hungry for a win. In a very back-and-forth game, Governor’s applied a full-court press early against Andover, but Andover eventually overcame a nine-point deficit to finish the half with a 28-26 lead.
Wesoloski shined in the interior against Governor’s. His performance, along with the support provided by a raucous bench group, proved critical in Andover’s victory. Both teams exchanged the lead in the second half, and after putting Governor’s at the line with two seconds left, Andover trailed by one point. On the last play of the game, a Governor’s player swatted down an Andover 3-pointer to ensure the game ended in a 53-52 loss for Andover
In terms of improvement, Head Coach Terrell Ivory ’00 cited defense as the area that required the most work.
“We have been working a lot on our man-to-man defense. We have to get better at getting stops. In practice, we work on the concept of seeing your man and the ball and being in good help position when you are not guarding the ball. One person is guarding and four people are playing help-defense,” said Ivory.
The team will play Deerfield on Saturday, and looks to improve its record against NEPSAC Class A teams to 5-3.
