Wow, an impressive night over on Hampshire Street with the Raiders and Warriors.
I’ve said it before, Central, which rolled 61-47, is just too big and talented for Andover.
Does that mean the Warriors won’t be able to pull off an upset, say in March?
Not necessarily, but it’s clear the Warriors are struggling with themselves right now.
Andover looks out of synch, they look like they are searching for an identity.
Honestly, I’d like to see the Warriors just once play with reckless abandon, as if they have nothing to lose. In my eyes, it’s almost like Andover plays like they are supposed to win and it works as a detriment.
The Warriors have to embrace the “David” role to CC’s Goliath.
I know it’s easier said than done. They’ve been told not to be intimidated by the monster Central over and over again. Just a thought, but at this point, the number is 12 losses in a row. Time for drastic measures.
Great crowd, great atmosphere tonight at CC.
Some thoughts on the game.
First, I thought the game was pretty well-officiated right up until the fourth quarter disqualifications of Central’s Evan Sheehan and Andover’s Spenser Rose.
The two got caught up in a pushing match at a point that was strictly garbage time. They were quickly separated, then disqualfied for fighting. That will now cost each the next game.
Had I been holding the whistle I might have just told the coaches to get them both out of the game.
But they got tossed, and both teams have to live with it.
That means Friday night against Lawrence, CC will be without a key reserve in Sheehan and possibly without Jimmy Zenevitch, who went down with what looked like a high ankle sprain.
Sheehan delivered his best game I’ve seen for the Raiders last night, scoring seven points, all in the second quarter. He hit a big 3 when Andover was basically playing 5 players packed in the paint, daring CC to shoot.
Of course, it’s tough to feel sorry for Rick Nault, who literally has gone 9-10 deep at times.
Last night, it was the little man, Jose Batistine coming off the bench to play the point and deliver solid minutes.
I didn’t think I’d see a better rebounding performance than Katie Zenevitch’s 22 board game against Andover Sunday night.
And then Carson Desrosiers goes and rips down 23 last night to go with 11 points and six blocks.
Tough not to tag onto Central’s road ahead. Friday night, Sunday at Bishop Hendricken, Tuesday against the Hillies and then in the finale with unbeaten St. John’s Prep.
You know, time to get a little serious here.
D.J. Fazio, who admittedly at times is his own worst enemy, delivered a solid effort with a team-high 12 points in the loss. More importantly, DJ played hard and under control, like a gentleman. He gets railed hard by the opposition fans. Folks forget he’s a kid and stick him with cheap shots. It’s nice to see the kid succeed, even in a loss.
Good stuff though, tonight. And March is coming.
This is clearly a grea time.
