After falling behind early against Thayer, Co-Captain Dallion Johnson ’20 scored 13 of the Andover’s 38 points in the second half to help the team win 58-45 on Friday. Andover Boys Basketball also went on to beat St. Sebastian’s 69-39 on Saturday, bringing its overall record to 12-6.
According to Marcus Filien PG’19, one important factor in Andover’s comeback against Thayer was its defensive intensity, especially in the second half.
Filien added, “We had energy and played as a collective unit. Those two things combined help us win the game. The game wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but we pulled out a win nonetheless.”
According to Head Coach Terrell Ivory ’00, in the second half, Andover’s defensive success was complemented by free throws on offense. Despite shooting zero free throws in the first half, in the second half, the team made 12 out of 14 attempts from the foul line.
Another key to Andover’s success against Thayer was its ability to defend and not allow many points, according to Ivory. Excluding free throws, Andover only allowed four Thayer players to score in the second half.
With ten different scorers in the game against St. Seb’s, Andover played a well as a team, especially offensively, according to Coach Ivory and Johnson.
Coach Ivory said, “It was nice because we got a chance to give some guys who normally don’t get to play, and they did a good job. I think one of the players that stood out especially today was Justin Hoyt [PG’19]. I think he had 13 points and he played really well. He shot the ball well and played good defense. And then Nick Thomas [’21] played really well. Not only did he have some good offensive plays, but he passed the ball really well.”
“We played together as one. Everybody was scoring, which led us to a great team win. However, we still have things that we can work and improve on. We have to constantly practice rebounding and communicating on defense,” added Johnson.
Andover will play at Cushing this Friday, Williston Northampton at home on Saturday, and St. Paul’s away next Wednesday.
