Xavier Abreu ’25 scopes the court for open space.
12/07 – Andover: 62, Millbrook: 67
12/08 – Andover: 77, Greenwich CD: 73
12/11 – Andover: 51, Holderness: 50
Boys Basketball began their season on Saturday in the Zero Gravity Prep Classic tournament, facing off against Millbrook and ultimately suffering a loss. However, they quickly rebounded from their defeat on Sunday and Wednesday, beating Greenwich Country Day and then Holderness.
Leading up to the season opener against Millbrook, Manager Leena Rustum ’25 commented on Coach Terrell Ivory’s (TI) coaching prowess. TI’s preseason efforts, Rustum noted, built upon the team’s already strong chemistry.
Rustum wrote, “The team has been practicing for a lot of time, since mid-November I believe. I have watched the balance between physical drills in practice and team bonding activities that TI implements on and off the court which has definitely made the team stronger. Both games felt pretty early in the season to me personally and yet we had great team chemistry from the very beginning.”
In the game against Millbrook, TI noted the team’s valiant efforts to push past a slow start, playing on-ball defense and challenging Millbrook’s attempts to score. He also praised Co-Captain Xavier (X) Abreu ’25 for his shot selection.
“We started out a little slow, but I think we did a really good job with playing on-ball defense and making it difficult for [Millbrook] to school. We worked our way back into the game and I think X played really well. He made some good shots and some other guys did a really good job of getting him the ball and in the right spots,” said TI.
Rustum echoed TI’s commendation of Abreu, noting his excellent contributions in both scoring points during the game and taking care of other important aspects of playing as a team.
“I’d say X (our Captain) stood out for sure, especially in our game against Millbrook. He scored 34 points in total. He did a great job of both getting us the ball back and just shooting in general, and leading the team as well as our Captain and starting off the season strong, it’s not easy juggling all that,” wrote Rustum.
TI emphasized the team’s camaraderie, emphasizing their genuine care for one another and how that bond is positively reflected on the court. He is confident that the team’s ability to foster close relationships both within the sport and beyond will only serve to aid the team’s success.
“I’d say our biggest strength is our team chemistry. The guys really care about each other, they like each other, and they play that way. So one of our things is making sure that we do a good job of finding a way to help our teammates… The guys genuinely care about one another. It seems like they’re having a lot of fun. I really want to emphasize their playing with joy. Even if things aren’t going well, they’re playing with joy and they’re optimistic about the fact that we can overcome the challenges that we will face this year,” said TI.
In the practices following their games against Millbrook and Greenwich Country Day, Rustum noted the team’s focus on play-by-play skills and its fluidity in-game.
Rustum wrote, “I assume we’ll continue to build our play-by-play skills, that is learning the plays TI puts together and building that fluidity on the court. I can tell it’s going to be a great season and this team is really something impressive so I’m really excited.”
In their game against Holderness, Kosi Udeh ’27 highlighted two players who proved crucial to Andover’s win: Hunter Peabody ’27 and Jaylen Edmonds ’27. In the final quarter, one of Peabody’s shots served as a turning point, leading the team to victory.
“Hunter Peabody and Jaylen Edmonds were two key players in this game. Hunter had a big momentum shot in the fourth quarter and Jaylen followed it up with a nice, wonderful pull-up mid. There were lots of great things from both of those players. [For example], great defense. Hunter grabbed a few boards as well. And a big shout-out to the bench for keeping energy up,” said Udeh.
On Sunday, Boys Basketball will battle Blair in the Scholar Roundball Classic tournament.
