Jake McElroy knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to 24 points to lead North Andover to a 65-48 victory over Dracut.
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Boys Basketball, 01/12/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
NORTH ANDOVER — Having won four of its first six games, including all three conference games, North Andover had already shown enough skill to raise expectations.
The Scarlet Knights, however, got even better a little over 3 minutes, 10 seconds into Tuesday night’s 71-36 victory over Haverhill.
That’s when junior Gabe DeSouza made his team debut — 27 days after a heart procedure to repair an arrhythmia. And the Eagle-Tribune All-Star wide receiver, whose heart problem was not known until after he was knocked unconscious by a hit on a kickoff return in North Andover’s Division 2 North championship-game defeat, wasted little time showing off the skills he brings to the Knights’ palette.
A transfer from Everett High, DeSouza missed his first attempt 25 seconds after entering the game, but a few seconds later, he took a feed from Jake McElroy and scored on a nice scooping layup that drew a foul.
He missed the charity toss, but DeSouza added a three from the wing with 15 seconds left to give the Knights a 17-5 lead after one.
“Sunday was my first day back,” said DeSouza, who required a month of tests before doctors determined his condition. “(Monday) was a like a pregame. ... Last time I was in a game, it didn’t end so well, so my head was all over the place.
“But once I got in, my teammates told me everything was going to be fine and they had my back. I thank my teammates for making everything fine and my coaches for believing in me. And it’s going to be a fun season.”
As North Andover continued a run that would eventually reach 22 unanswered points, DeSouza added a layup after making a half-court steal and finished with seven points. He also made an athletic play in the corner, blocking a Haverhill shot and containing the ball before going out of bounds.
“I thought he’s handled this situation as well as any kid his age could,” North Andover coach Paul Tanglis said. “He’s an athletic guard, and he’s going to make us better. The guys are happy for him, and for each other. That’s really good to see.”
And after his first action following the scary ordeal, DeSouza only had eyes for the future.
“I have the best doctors in the world,” he said. “Once they told me I was good to go, I had no doubt I would be fine the rest of the season and for the rest of my life. ... I don’t regret things at all. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m very thankful that I got whatever it was all taken care of.”
43-point lead
North Andover had no problem against shorthanded Haverhill (2-4 MVC, 3-6 overall). The Knights led by 17 at intermission and built a 43-point lead midway through the fourth period when Tanglis went deep on his bench.
McElroy led the Knights (4-0, 5-2). One game after draining seven threes, the junior guard popped another five, finishing with a game-high 21 points with three assists and five steals. Kyle Moore added 12 points for North Andover, which also saw the return of Chim Ogwuru following a two-week trip to Nigeria for a funeral and two weddings.
Shorthanded Hillies
Dante Cadeus (11) was the only Hillie in double figures. Haverhill, which had 22 turnovers and just 13 field goals, was without leading scorer Daejon Pendelton-Mills. He did not play because of a “coach’s decision,” said head coach Souleymane Wane.
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Boys Basketball, 01/09/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Garrett Murphy got going with 12 points in the first quarter, helping North Andover open up a big early lead and cruise to a victory over Chelmsford. The big man finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and sharpshooter Jake McElroy had 23 points on seven 3-pointers with six assists.
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Boys Basketball, 01/05/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Jake McElroy had 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to help North Andover pull away from Tewksbury and earn a 48-34 victory.
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Boys Basketball, 01/02/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Andover's Emmett Kim scored 17 first half points and finished with a game-high 27 points to lead the Golden Warriors to a 71-61 victory over feisty North Andover in the Commonwealth Classic fifth place game.
Sophomore Kyle Rocker chipped in with 21 points for the Golden Warriors, while Cedric Gillette had 11 points including three 3-pointers.
Kyle Moore scored 14 points for North Andover, which cut the Andover lead to 66-59 with 1:43 left. Darren Watson and Jake McElroy each scored 10 points.
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Boys Basketball, 12/30/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
METHUEN — Jake McElroy poured in 21 points on seven 3-pointers as North Andover handled Bishop Guertin 68-42 in the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic consolation round.
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Boys Basketball, 12/29/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
METHUEN — A week after being denied a victory when North Andover blocked a last-second layup attempt, Methuen used a little extra work last night to get its revenge.
The Rangers rode the offensive boards in overtime, using the extra possessions to eke out a 66-62 victory over the Scarlet Knights in the final quarterfinal outing of the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic.
"We just played these guys ... and it was a one-point game and we couldn't pull it out," Methuen coach Anthony Faradie said. "But I say it all the time, eveytime we play North Andover I think like seven out of the last eight games has come down to the last possession. Pulling out the close games is going to be important in this league because everyone is so competitive."
Last night, the Knights needed a last-possession shot to force overtime as Garrett Murphy turned a delicious driving dish by Jake McElroy into a layup with 6 seconds remaining. That layup negated a pair of long-range threes by Dante Rivera and another by Jhamyl Fricas with the shot clock winding down that provided Methuen 55-51 lead with 1:28 remaining in regulation.
But a pair of free throws by Kyle Moore and Murhpy's field goal erased that deficit.
In overtime, North Andover grabbed a 60-58 advantage with 2:22 left on a three from the wing by Moore, who finished with 15 points. Methuen fought back to grab a 62-60 lead on a drive by Rivera (19 points) and a pull-up jumper by Fricas (16).
An offensive rebound by TJ Clark resulted in a pair of free throws by Nick Clark for a 64-60 lead.
"TJ had a huge offensive rebound," said Faradie, whose squad had four overtime offensive boards. "That was a game-winning play."
Another driving layup by McElroy brought North Andover back to within 2 but a pair of Rivera free throws secured the win with 8.1 seconds left.
Methuen's passing powered the Rangers after intermission as they had assists on seven of their first 10 second-half field goals. Clark was the recipient of many of the feeding tosses, scoring 17 of his game-high 21 after intermission, including 10 on layups
"We tried to get it inside and get more ball reversals," Faradie said. "We felt in the first half we were able to draw fouls and get into the bonus pretty early. Getting to the free throw line was an emphasis."
Murphy paced North Andover with 20 points.
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Boys Basketball, 12/27/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Up 43-42 with time winding down, North Andover's Colin Lee blocked a Methuen layup attempt out of bounds with just under two seconds left. The Rangers got a good look off the ensuing inbounds pass, but the potential game-winner missed, and the Knights held on for the season-opening victory.
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Boys Basketball, 12/19/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
