The Andover Boys Basketball team notched a dominating 71-49 victory over Choate in its first game after winter break. On Wednesday, the team continued its winning ways with a thrilling victory over Holderness 61-58. Andover’s Captain, Joey Lokitis ’06, scored 30 points that day, but perhaps his biggest point came on a free throw just a few minutes into the game. While he admitted later that he had quite a few butterflies in his stomach, he stepped up to the line and drilled the shot. Captain Lokitis’ free throw gave him 1000 points in his Andover career. He is the first male to reach 1000 points in Phillips Academy Basketball history. He is also fast approaching the all-time scoring record of 1,108 by Becky Dowling ’94. He said, “The coaches and the players at PA were definitely a big part of my success here. I was lucky enough that the coaches and especially Coach Mo gave me the opportunity to play my freshman year which definitely was an important part of reaching 1000 points.” Captain Lokitis, however, was not the only scorer for Andover. Matt Silva ’07 added 12 points, including two crucial three pointers in the second half. Chris Bramwell ’07 and Will Sherrill ’07 also contributed six points each. The offensive run by point guard Bryan Lee ’06 was relentless and kept Choate from getting back in the game. Tough defense, however, was the key to success for Andover. Blake Hinckley ’06 and Sherrill shut down the inside game of Choate and forced them to settle for poor outside shots. Sherrill also added in 14 rebounds of his own. In the second half, Bramwell and Ekow Essel ’07 combined with Sherrill and Hinckley to come up with several key blocks that secured the victory for the Big Blue. Although the year may have started tough for Andover, going 0-4 before vacation, the team has opened the new year on a positive note. Bramwell said, “I hope this will be a jumpstart for many victories down the road. We have a tough week ahead of us, but if we continue our strong play I am very optimistic about our chances.” Against Holderness, Andover came back from a nine point second-half deficit to squeak out the win.
