With ten seconds remaining in the first half and two oncoming Deerfield defenders, Post-Graduate (PG) Sam Jefferson ’16 scored a basket to give Andover Boys Basketball a 31-27 lead heading into the second half. In a hostile away-game environment, Andover went on to win the game 68-62, on the back of Jefferson, who scored 39 points, more than half of Andover’s total. Later in the week, Andover fell to Cushing 58-39.
Jefferson made eight of his 11 shots from beyond the arc, as well as seven of his eight shots from the foul line. His eight 3-pointers tied a school record.
For most of the game, Andover trailed Deerfield by as much as ten points in a critical matchup against its New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class-A rival. Playing on the road in front of a rambunctious crowd, Jefferson seized this opportunity to lead Andover on the offensive end.
Jefferson said, “I was able to feed off of the energy from the Deerfield fans. They were very rowdy, and it was nice to shut them up at the end of the game.”
Andover had a difficult time putting away Deerfield’s scrappy team, and yet the team was continually bailed out by the stellar play of Jefferson and Co-Captain Andrew Reavis ’17.
Reavis netted 16 points on 8-8 shooting from the foul line.
This past Wednesday, Andover faced off against Cushing. Going into the game, Andover expected a gritty matchup.
After falling behind by 19 points in the first half, Andover entered the second half with renewed vigor.
Reavis said, “I think in the second half we did a much better job executing and hustling, and it enabled us to get back in the game.”
The effort, however, turned out to be not enough, as Andover was not able to overcome Cushing’s lead.
With a win and a loss, Andover’s record moved to 5-9. The team hopes to improve upon its performance in its weekend matchups against Worcester Academy and Noble and Greenough.
