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Warriors hold off hard-charging Lawrence

Tuesday, December, 22 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — The season may have been just two games old, and the Christmas tournament still on the way, but Andover knew it faced a major challenge when it took the court against Lawrence.

“Lawrence shocked everyone by beating Central Catholic,” said Golden Warrior senior Jonathan Rodriguez. “That really put us on our toes. This was definitely our first big test of the season, and we passed the test.”

Facing a hard-charging Lancer squad that had knocked off Merrimack Valley Conference favorite Central Catholic just one week ago, Andover surged out to a 14-point lead in the fourth, then held on for a gritty 61-52 victory at the Dunn Gym.
“After the Central win we knew that Lawrence would be tough,” said senior co-captain Ryan O’Connell. “We wanted to come out and show that we can stand with the toughest teams in the state.
“After losing big pieces like (Eagle-Tribune All-Stars) Connor (Merinder) and Giri (David Giribaldi) people think we have huge holes. But we want to show that we can overcome that and win.”
Leading by two points after a quarter, the Golden Warriors began to pull away before halftime. They allowed Lawrence just one basket in the second quarter, and held a 32-23 lead at the break.
Andover continued to surge by opening the third quarter on an 8-2 run, and after a Devon Beasley 3-pointer and an O’Connell jumper to start the fourth the lead was up to 14 points.
But the Warriors were hardly in cruise control with the advantage.
“We knew they would come out strong,” said Rodriguez. “And they came back really hard. They were playing tough and hitting shots. We had to stay strong.”
Felix Juan Rodriguez woke Lawrence up with a 3-pointer, then after he hit two free throws Jayson Desoto and Benammi Rodriguez each knocked down baskets to cut he lead to 51-44.
After some back-and-four play, a Desoto jumper with 0:30 left made it 58-52.
But Beasley came up with a pair of free throws, and Jonathan Rodriguez added one more from the line to ice the game for Andover.
“We just had to keep the heat on them,” said O’Connell. “We couldn’t play with fear. They are a tough team with great bigs. But if we got intimidated they would go on a run and build a lead. So we had to stay tough.”
It was a big second half for unsung heros O’Connell and Beasley.
After just one basket in the first half, O’Connell led the Warriors with nine points after the break, along with 11 rebounds. Beasley scored all eight of his points in the second half.
“It was good to spread of the offense out a little,” said O’Connell. “They were really keying in on E.J. (Perry IV) so we moved the ball around and created opportunities.”
Superstar Perry IV did score a team-high 18 points and added eight rebounds and six steals. Desoto led Lawrence with a game-high 19 points. 
The game was chippy at times, with the teams combining for 53 free throw attempts.
“It was physical out there,” said Jonathan Rodriguez. “It might have been the most physical game I have ever played in. There was pulling on shorts and stepping on toes. It was tough. But after the game it’s nothing but love. It was a great game and a good win.”