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McElroy paces Knights

NORTH ANDOVER — To have a chance against  defending Division 2 North champion North Andover in the first round Monday night, Burlington coach Phil Conners knew that one thing was a must.

“We had to stop (Jake) McElroy,” said Conners. “That’s all we talked about leading up to the game. They’re really, really good, but he’s the guy you have to stop.”

Try as they might, the Red Devils couldn’t do it, however, as McElroy poured in a season-high 31 points to pace the Knights to a 76-57 victory.

McElroy did it all on the scoring front, sinking five 3-pointers, driving for five baskets, hitting a short pull-up jumper and converting 4 of 5 free throws.

When asked which part of his offensive game he has most confidence in, McElroy said: “At this point, I’m confident in all phases.”

For awhile, it looked like North Andover might need every one of McElroy’s points because the No. 11-seed Red Devils came out aggressively and, led by drives to the basket from senior guards Ryan Culhane (23 points) and Alex Wong (18), took a 17-11 lead in the first quarter.

“We knew they played like that but we didn’t defend very well,” said North Andover coach Paul Tanglis. “But I thought we weathered the storm and settled in after that.”

Indeed, the Knights turned it around quickly in the second quarter, taking better care of the basketball, running the court efficiently and outscoring Burlington 24-12 to take a 35-29 halftime lead.

Gabe DeSouza, who is not usually a big scorer, sparked the Knights in the second frame with eight of his 11 points. Joining him in double figures for the game were Darren Watson, who had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, and Matt Niejadlik with 11.

“Gabe did a nice job in the first half and we’re going to need scoring from other guys,” said Tanglis. “We can’t just rely on Jake.”

But it was McElroy who put the game out of reach in the third quarter as he sank four 3-pointers, including three in a row, and scored 14 points in the frame as the Knights went on a 13-2 run to pull away.

North Andover will now face the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 3-seed Salem and No. 14 Malden Catholic, likely on Friday or Saturday.

MURPHY RETURNS

After missing more than a month with a broken leg bone, 6-foot-5 senior Garrett Murphy returned to action Monday night. He came came off the bench midway through the first quarter and probably played a total of about eight minutes overall.

Obviously a bit out of shape, Murphy went scoreless, but his presence should be important going forward.

“It was great to get him out there,” said McElroy. “He’s our big guy and we need him.”

Said Tanglis: “He just got cleared to play so it’ll take some time. But obviously we can be a different team with him.”