With an impressive 32 points, including four three-pointers, Ryan Hartung ’12 led Andover to a convincing 72-61 victory over Deerfield Academy on Saturday. Hartung also added five rebounds in the game. However, the following Wednesday, Andover struggled at Cushing, suffering a tough 71-53 blowout. “Without our leading scorer [Ray Barry ‘11] someone needed to take more shots,” said Hartung. “I got more touches than I normally do and luckily I was able to capitalize on them.” “Ryan let the game come to him against Deerfield,” said Coach Leon Modeste. “He displayed his full arsenal and rebounded very well.” Andover began the game explosively, jumping out to a 35-22 lead by the half. Hartung scored the majority of Andover’s points in the half, as he dropped 19. Andover’s defense slipped in the second half, allowing 39 points and letting Deerfield creep within five points at one point in the half. However, Andover’s offense played equally as well, and the team finished strong with a 72-61 victory. “Deerfield is a very big rival for us, maybe even more so than Exeter,” said Tom Palleschi ’12. “Any win against them always feels better.” With Barry out of the game, Gibby Graves ’11 stepped up at the point and dealt out six assists. “There is a direct correlation between Gibby’s playing style and Ryan’s points,” said Coach Leon Modeste. “Gibby is a pass-first point guard and he was crucial in our high point count.” Jay Dolan ’11 contributed to the win by shutting down Deerfield’s top scorer, holding him to only 13 points in the game. “I just tried to stay with him everywhere he went, even when we went into a zone defense,” said Dolan. “I think the main thing that helped me though was just knowing I had insurance in the form of great help defense by my teammates when he got by me.” Andover’s game at Cushing Academy the following Wednesday, however, was a completely different story. Andover got out to a promising 8-2 lead in the three minutes of the game with the help of four points by Thomas Palleschi ’12. However, Cushing quickly brought the score back to even and kept on scoring, posting a 27-10 run that lasted for most of the half. The half ended 37-26 in Cushing’s favor. “Our shots just weren’t falling,” said Dolan. “We got the looks we wanted but we couldn’t consistently convert.” Andover came out to another great start in the second half, as Palleschi scored seven points in the first two minutes of the half and Andover played evenly with its opponent through five minutes. Then, Cushing let loose again and scored 34 points in the half, including two alley-oops by its center, ending the game in a 71-53 Cushing victory. “Cushing scored so many points because we just couldn’t get back on defense,” said Palleschi, who contributed a double-double despite the loss, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. “Our transition defense was very poor and we allowed too many uncontested layups.” Next week, Andover will play Worcester Academy (5-5) on Friday and Tilton Academy (9-0) on Wednesday. Palleschi said, “Combined with the Cushing game, Worcester and Tilton are the toughest games on our schedule this season.”
