RallyNorth.net

Andover Golden Warriors Boys Basketball '14-'15

Tue, Feb 24, 2015 07:00 PM @ Andover
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Somerville 11 11 11 23 56
Andover 14 16 20 21 71

Merinder, Andover surge to tourney win over Somerville

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Tuesday, February, 24 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Despite the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 title, and the 15-5 regular season record to go with it, the Andover basketball players heard the questions as they prepared for the state tournament.

"We had some doubters questioning us coming into the playoffs," said Golden Warrior forward Connor Merinder. "We wanted to come out and show them that we are here to play and that we have what it takes go out and make a run."

Behind outstanding performances by Merinder and fellow senior David Giribaldi, No. 5 Andover showed plenty of firepower last night, leading by as many as 22 points on the way to rolling over No. 12 Somerville 71-56 in the first round of the Division 1 North tournament on Tuesday night at the Dunn Gym.

"It was a huge win," said junior marksman Jonathan Rodriguez. "We came out fighting and our goal was to finish strong. Somerville is a tough team, but we played our hearts out and got the win."

With the win, the Golden Warriors advance to face No. 4 Lawrence on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lawrence High. The two schools split the regular season series 1-1.

"It was a great victory tonight," said E.J. Perry IV. "We scouted them, we had a plan and we came out and executed it. They stayed with us, but we finally got the lead to 20, and when they came back it wasn't enough. Giri and Merinder both had outstanding games. It's great to see them perform on the biggest stage."

Slowed throughout the season with injuries, the dynamic Giribaldi was back to his old ways last night. The senior netted a game-high 22 points, including three 3-pointers as the Warriors pulled away in the late third and early fourth.

"Giri always performs in the big games," said Merinder. "He probably had his best game of the season. We had to absorb a few runs from Somerville, but everyone came to play."

The undersized Highlanders could do little to slow down Merinder in the paint. The senior co-captain tallied 15 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots, including one thunderous swat into the seats.

"We feel like Conner is the best player in the MVC," said Giribaldi. "He came up huge. There was definitely some pressure about being one-and-done (losing in the first round). So it is good to get that out of the way."

Perry IV scored 15 points of his own, to go with six steals, while Rodriguez added 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers. J-Rod nearly had the play of the night as he went up for a thunderous dunk. But it was spoiled when a defender fouled him from behind.

Next up, the Warriors must deal with a Lawrence team that they beat 72-59 in early January, then fell to 59-41 on Feb. 11.

"We are feeling good," said Merinder. "We have probably had our best practices of the season. Somerville was no joke. We just have to sink in and play defense. What we have to do is to play defense and have fun on offense."

Game Statistics:

Somerville (56): Salim Warsame 6 3-6 19, Lucas Saint-Jean 2 3-4 8, Chris David 0 2-2 2, Fru Che 2 0-0 4, Daishawn Ulysse 6 1-1 15, Craig Thompson 4 0-2 8. Totals 20 9-15 56  

Andover (71): E.J. Perry IV 6 2-5 15, David Giribaldi 9 1-2 22, Jonathan Rodriguez 3 2-2 10, Connor Merinder 6 3-4 15, Brandon Witten 0 2-2 2, Reid Bryant 1 0-0 2, Ryan O'Connell 0 3-4 3, Gabe Hernandez 0 2-4 2, Griffin O'Connor 0 0-0 0. 25 15-23 

3-pointers: A — Perry IV, Giribaldi 3, Rodriguez 2; S — Warsame 4, Saint-Jean, Ulysse 2

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