The Andover Boys Basketball team dominated Choate on Saturday, winning by 15 points in a 64-49 victory. On Wednesday, however, Andover suffered a rough loss to Holderness, 72-43. Before the winter vacation, Andover went 3-0 and won the Loomis Tournament. Andover’s win against Choate was its fourth straight. Morgan Griff ’07 and Jelani Floyd ’07 led the team with 15 points and 20 points, respectively. Matt Silva ’07 and Captain Chris Bramwell ’07 also posted double digits. “It was a real team game, as everyone got significant playing time and contributed to the overall success of the game,” said Bramwell. The ball was spread unselfishly across the court to open players, and Andover scored easy baskets because of this team effort. “This team loves to pass the ball,” said Coach Mo. “There are no ego issues. They just want to win.” And that’s exactly what they did in Andover’s first game in over three weeks. Despite this victory, the team appeared a bit rusty after the winter holidays. “It was tough to come out of a break and it took a while for us to warm up,” said Silva. “Choate came after us hard and scored the first four points of the game. After we settled down and found our rhythm, we stretched out the lead until they couldn’t catch up.” After Andover built a 34-23 lead by halftime, Choate came out strong beginning the second half. Unfortunately, Wednesday’s game against Holderness told a different story. Andover did not control the game as it had against Choate and had difficulty building momentum. “We didn’t play our game,” said Bramwell. “We were suckered into playing a high tempo game that adhered closer to Holderness’s type of basketball.” As a result, Andover turned the ball over 32 times throughout the course of the game—turnovers that were often converted to Holderness points. They began their scoring quickly and ran off to a 41-18 halftime lead, then followed the same formula in the second half for the win. Jelani Floyd was Andover’s leading scorer, with 24 points. “We came out slow, and never got off the bus,” said Bramwell of the loss. “It served as a reminder that we have to come to play every time, everywhere.” Hopefully, Andover can use this reminder in their games this weekend. The Big Blue will square off with Milton this Friday night and with Tabor on Saturday.
