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North Andover turns back Masco in opener

Tuesday, December, 20 By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER — For the opening four minutes of the second half last night, North Andover played like it was the first game of its season, turning over the ball on four of its six possessions.
For the other 28 minutes, however, the Scarlet Knights appeared to be in midseason form, successfully kicking off the year with a convincing 66-44 victory over Cape Ann League rival Masconomet.
“We had a great summer,” said forward Isaiah Nelsen, who scored 18 points and added 10 rebounds. “We just have great team chemistry. We just moved the ball real well. And as a unit we played really well tonight.”
With all five starters and another five lettermen back from a Division 2 North quarterfinals squad that finished 17-5 last year, North Andover faces high expectations from both inside and outside the program.
“When you play fall and summer ball, it certainly helps, but we’ve had great scrimmages,” said Mike McVeigh, in his 30th year at the North Andover helm. “I try to tell them I don’t like it when an outside force or even a coach makes high expectations. I think the magic is for them to have high expectations themselves,  not to be listening to other’s expectations.”
They could be even better later on as high-scoring guard Derek Collins (back surgery) and veteran guard Jimmy Warden (school suspension) will be out until at least the new year and Collins could be longer.
Last night’s first half though just might have raised those hopes. The Knights connected on nine of their 12 first-quarter field-goal attempts and were 15 of 23 at the half. Nelsen, Zach Karalis and Brendan Miller each scored nine points by intermission while Mike Moroney added 8. North Andover scored the final 11 points of the half to take a commanding 37-20 advantage. The Knights had assists on 15 of their 25 field goals with Colby Smith (four) and Karalis combining for seven of them.
When the rout was over, Karalis had scored a game-high 22 and Miller and Moroney each had 10. Stonehill recruit Adam Bramanti led the Chieftains with 17 points.
“Right now we have to get our defense down,” Nelsen said. “Last year, that was the only thing that held us back from being a state contender. Everyone knows about our offense. We can all run the floor and we can all shoot the ball. We just have to play better defense than we did (last year).”
The Knights next play Salem in Friday’s Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament quarterfinals. North Andover hopes to finish a few points better than last year when it dropped a tough 63-60 decision to Andover in the tournament championship.
“We’re so excited,” Nelsen said. “Last year, we were so close. We were just one shot away. This year should be a lot of fun.”