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Andovers' defense prevails

Friday, December, 26 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

It wasn’t pretty, but a lot of Andover’s wins this year might not be works of art according to Golden Warriors’ coach Dave Fazio.
“Our offense has a ways to go, but we have 10 guys in our rotation who can play some defense,” said Fazio after Andover’s 60-47 victory over Methuen in the final first-round game of the day. “Hopefully, we can wear teams down.”
That’s indeed what happened as Methuen (2-3) rode four early 3-pointers to a 16-11 first-quarter lead, but — facing a tenacious trapping Andover defense — couldn’t find the range on a consistent basis the rest of the game.
The Warriors’ defense was at its best in the decisive second quarter, forcing seven turnovers and holding the Rangers to only eight shots and eight points. A 9-0 run gave Andover (4-0) a 27-24 halftime lead.
Some sub-par shooting (17 of 50) by Andover kept Methuen close until the fourth quarter when an 11-0 run gave the Warriors a double-digit lead they would hold onto.
Sophomore Joe Bromanti led the Warriors with four 3-pointers and 17 points and Kevin Polanco chipped in with 15 points, including 11 in the second half, and helped Andover dominated the boards. Connor Arnold added nine points, including seven in the second half.