RallyNorth.net

Andover hands Scarlet Knights second loss

Monday, February, 08 By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER — It isn’t appropriate to call this a rivalry. After all, Andover and their North Andover counterparts rarely meet on the court. But last night’s match up in front of a raucous full house certainly had the feel.

And the home crowd was geared up for their Scarlet Knights to pull off the upset and their 15th consecutive victory of the season.

The Golden Warriors, however, not only erased those thoughts early but also rebounded from a disappointing three-game losing streak as Andover ran away from the hosts for a 56-41 victory.

“We got together and said this isn’t us,” said Andover guard Jimmy Johnson. “We had to get back on track because we know we’re a better team than that.”

Three days after scoring three first-quarter points and 15 in the first three periods during a loss to Lowell, the Warriors (13-6) ran away from the Knights, opening a 23-4 lead 30 seconds into the second.

“It was pretty embarrassing,” Joe Bramanti said about the Golden Warriors’ offensive output against Lowell. “It was in the back of our minds all weekend long. We needed to get a (win) here. It was important to get off to a fast start. The past three games we lost we didn’t start off well at all. ... It was time to right the ship a little bit and get our momentum going before the (state) tournament.”

The Golden Warriors, who handed North Andover it’s only other loss of the season in a 52-50 victory in the Lawrence Christmas Tournament, eventually built a 22-point advantage midway through the second period. Andover finished the game with 22 field goals on 43 attempts.

“That was the game,” said Andover coach Dave Fazio, whose squad has been held to 57 points or fewer each of the past four games after scoring 72 or more in each of the previous three. “We’d been running in quicksand for a week. It’s a long season for these kids. These kids have played one of the toughest schedules in New England.”

After being held to a mere four points the opening period, North Andover played the Golden Warriors even the remainder of the game, but were unable to cut its deficit to fewer than 10 points.

“They had an edge,” said Scarlet Knights coach Mike McVeigh, who added his team hadn’t played North Andover outside the holiday tournament in his 28 years at the school. “They took us out of what we wanted to do. Losing a game doesn’t make you better. Learning from the loss then doing something about it makes you better, and that starts with me.”

North Andover, which entered the game having won 28 of 30 dating to Jan. 1, 2009, will have all week to regroup before going after its third straight Cape Ann League title Friday against Masconomet. The Scarlet Knights, ranked 14th in Eastern Mass, defeated Masco by two points in a season-opening nonleague tilt.
“Andover and Masco are two different animals,” said McVeigh “We’ll take what we can from this game, but it’s more about ourselves. It will be a matter of running our schemes.”