After Akshay Mundra ’18 dove to the hardwood to push a loose ball to Captain Andrew Reavis ’17, Reavis hit a jump shot at the first-half buzzer to maintain Andover Boys Basketball’s lead at halftime against Holderness on Wednesday. Andover, however, was not able to hold onto its lead and ultimately fell 62-60 to its opponent.
Along with a 61-58 loss to Choate on Saturday and a 53-37 win over St. Paul’s on Friday, Andover’s record now stands at 1-2.
Andover began the game with gusto against Holderness, securing an initial lead with its swarming defense that forced multiple turnovers.
Post-Graduate (PG) Kailan Lee ’17 secured several steals in the first half, some of which led to easy transition points for the team. Dallion Johnson ’20 came up with a key steal with 1:25 left in the game, but the team failed to capitalize upon the opportunity to score.
In addition, the team played with precise ball movement and hit its perimeter shots.
Reed Finlay ’18 said, “Today, as a unit we played tight and fast. Our guards were sinking their shots, and we were playing really well together.”
At the end of the second half, Andover struggled offensively, and its 60-49 lead slowly disappeared.
With the game tied at 60, Holderness drew a foul and sank two free throws to secure its 62-60 win.
Reavis said, “We need to make sure that we are more of a cohesive unit than we are right now. Obviously that is going to take some time, but I think that is really going to come.”
On Saturday, Andover came out strong at the start of the Choate game, with newcomer Johnson scoring an early eight points and giving the team a significant lead. Andover entered the second half with a 17 point lead, which was slowly erased by Choate’s efficient second half shooting.
The 58-58 tie game came down to the final possession, but Choate secured the victory with a last-second three pointer.
PG James Lewis ’17 stood out and scored double figures, but the rest of the team struggled to match his intensity and close out the game.
Jackson Emus ’19 said, “In the second half they made some adjustments, and some of our guys went cold. We had a few empty possessions, and they hit some big shots and made their free throws at the end of the game. It all came down to the last possession.”
Jason Reynolds ’18 said, “It was a combination of our mistakes defensively and people slowing down offensively. We just weren’t shooting the ball well.”
Last Friday, Andover had a successful season-opener against St. Paul’s. Lewis once again played a key role on both the offensive and defensive fronts, contributing impressive inside shots and making key rejections against St. Paul’s big men inside.
Reynolds said, “Our game against St. Paul’s was our first time playing together as a real team, and we struggled in the beginning because we were trying to find chemistry amongst each other. While against Choate, we definitely came out fast, we had our chemistry set. We just attacked, attacked, attacked, and it worked out perfectly so we definitely found our rhythm together.”
Andover is looking to bounce back with a victory against Rivers on Saturday.
