RallyNorth.net

Knights rebound, claim sole CAL championship

Friday, February, 12 By Hector Longo

NORTH ANDOVER - Alex Blane banked home a rebound, turned to the massive North Andover High student section, pumped his fist and roared.

With 30 seconds left and the hosts having put away rival Masconomet, 55-48, the Knights Cape Ann League championship rave have begun.

"Feels great," exclaimed Knight Tommy O'Connell, who with his teammates and the North Andover band joined the celebration in front of the Crozier Fieldhouse student section as the final buzzer sounded.

The previous 31 minutes and 30 seconds were strictly business for 16-2 North Andover, who laid claim to sole possession of their third straight conference crown with the business-like, box-to-wire win.

“We relaxed. We’ve been in this position a few times,” said O’Connell of the three-time defending CAL champs, who own the title regardless of what happens in the league finale against Hamilton-Wenham Tuesday. “We kept our composure. There’s no fear there, been in that position. We know what to expect, so we just kept our cool.”

This was a different North Andover bunch than the one run off its home floor Monday night against Andover.
But as McVeigh said, Monday night's lesson only matters if you show off your resilience and prove you were paying attention.

North Andover must have taken copious notes.

Freshman Derek Collins canned a wing 3-pointer for a 13-12 Knight lead in the final minute of the first quarter. And that was the last time, Masconomet would ever sniff the lead.

“I’m happy for our kids, too,” said McVeigh. “I was worried that Andover might take the wind out of our sails. I was wondering if we could bounce back.

“Now we can say Monday night helped.”

The advantage grew to as many as 10 points, and the Chieftains got as close as one at 47-46 with just under six minutes to play. But Jake London's stick back would be Masco's last field goal of the night.

“That’s awesome, that’s  awesome,” said McVeigh, praising his team’s defensive effort. “We didn’t do anything fancy there, just good team defense. It wasn’t one guy, it was all five of them.”

Scott Ricketts'cashed in on the break for North Andover, and Collins struck with a tough, elevating drive in traffic.

O'Connell fearlessly drove the lane in the final 90 seconds, and Blane (12 rebounds) bashed the board for his putback.

The differences were defense ... and confidence.

Matt Sifferlen led four Knights into double figures with 14 points. O'Connell, Ricketts and Collins added 10 apiece, while Blane muscled his way for eight.

Additional stories:

• Knights rebound, claim sole CAL championship