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NORTH ANDOVER — With prep schools transforming into college basketball factories all over New England and the sleaze factor rising to all-time highs in the chase for players, John McVeigh rebels.

He refreshes, revives and restores your faith in common sense and the common good.

Yesterday McVeigh's Brooks School boys hoop team all but locked down its invitation to the upcoming New England Prep Class B playoffs, knocking off rival Phillips Academy, a top echelon Class A team, 62-58.

"Yeah, it's been a pretty good two days for us, can't lie about that," said McVeigh, whose club assured a chance to play for a share of the ISL title by knocking off Belmont Hill on Wednesday. "I'm one of those guys who downplays our chances for the playoffs. I think it's pretty safe we're going to the tournament."

At 19-1 this year, McVeigh's eighth on the shores of Lake Cochichewick, Brooks has it rolling in high gear.

McVeigh is doing it his way. School matters, first and foremost. Winning basketball will never take the top priority.

"I don't think it's what Brooks wants, and I don't think it's what I want here," said McVeigh. "They're not just basketball players here. They've done a great job in school. They've done a great job in other things. (Juniors) Aaron Davis and Anthony Barry starred in the school play in the fall. They've bought in doing things outside of just basketball here."

Davis, the 5-foot-11 point guard, might as well be considered an architect of this current Brooks dynamo.

After leaving Marshfield High two years ago, Davis landed at Brooks because of McVeigh and the atmosphere on campus.

Soon, he spread the word and when former AAU mates Connor Mahoney of BC High and Barry of Milford expressed interest in a change, Davis delivered the sales pitch for Brooks.

"I went out and talked to them, because I knew it would be great to have them here," he said.

The junior trio has galvanized Brooks as a force to be reckoned with, even in the talent-saturated prep ranks.

How good is Brooks?

It's tough to cross over to the MIAA ranks and gauge it, but McVeigh's club did handle Central Catholic in a preseason scrimmage — the Raiders missed Evan Sheehan and Luis Puello and Brooks was without Mahoney — but that debate reigns.

All McVeigh knows is that things are good right now.

"I love the model right now. I love to be in a place with kids who want to play in the Ivy League and NESCAC," said McVeigh. "Next year, we will have six different kids in six different schools in the NESCAC, who've played here. That's the kind of stuff I'm proud of. All three of those juniors are getting looked at by Ivy League schools. It's fun coaching those kind of kids."

BROOKS HOLDS ON TO WIN

Showing no ill effects from Wednesday's win over Belmont Hill, Brooks School pounced on Phillips Academy early and held on for the four-point victory yesterday.

Point man Aaron Davis had 12 points and eight assists in the win. Classmate Connor Mahoney, improving by the day off his torn ACL injury, added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Lawrence's David Berroa, only a sophomore, delivered 17 points with six boards and five assists, while Anthony Barry also scored 17 points.

With point guard and leading scorer Ray Barry out of action with a wrist injury, Phillips put up a mighty fight, thanks to its Haverhill junior inside-out tandem.

Tom Palleschi led all scorers with 19 points, sweeping the glass for 17 boards, and sizzling Ryan Hartung added 17 points with some surgical work on the perimeter. North Andover's Mark Hanson added eight points.