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Giribaldi powers Andover's second half rally

Saturday, December, 21 By Jeff Hamrick

ANDOVER — A mere three games into the season, David Giribaldi already has seen his share of highs and lows.
Last night proved more of the same for the Andover junior, who scored 27 in the opener before being held to just a pair of free throws in Game 2.
But after missing nine of his 10 shots in the first half of the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic's nightcap, Giribaldi came out smoking after intermission. The 6-foot guard connected on five of his six attempts in the third while scoring 12 of his game-high 19 points to help the Golden Warriors remain undefeated with a 56-47 victory over Lawrence.
"I was in a bad slump," said Giribaldi, who was eight of 21 from the field. "I just kept shooting, and got lucky. Something just happened in that Dracut game. I was playing a little injured and just had a real bad night. A real bad night."
Giribaldi's second-half surge was the final spark in Andover's rally from an early-game 11-2 deficit. he wasn't the only Warrior to finally find the range as the Warriors (3-0) made 12 of 23 attempts after intermission, recovering from a woeful 8-for-30 first-half effort`.
"There were guys saying 'bad shot,' and I'm going, 'No, good shot,' " Andover coach David Fazio said. "We've got guys who can shoot. Our goal is ... get the ball, shoot the ball. We were missing shots that I thought 'no way are we going to miss those shots in the second half.' "
With no returning starters back from last year's squad, Giribaldi and his mates figure to have more nights with the same ebb and flow.
"It's building some team chemistry," Giribaldi said. "We have a lot of young players that have never played on this team before, and winning early is definitely helping with our team chemistry. I think we're a pretty good team, so I expect some good wins from us."
Even the coach knows it will be a hit-and-miss first couple months.
"We just need to be so much more focused," Fazio said. "We're such an enthusiastic team and we play with a lot of adrenaline and confidence, but we lose focus on what we're trying to accomplish. (Last night) we were in the wrong position 50 percent of the game."
Freshman E.J. Perry 1V aided the Andover cause with 14 points and five steals while Junior Connor merinder added 10.
Lawrence (1-2) struggled after intermission, converting only six of its 31 field-goal attempts, including one of 13 in the fourth. Kevin Fabian, who had seven three pointers in a season-opening win over North Andover, continued his hot hand with 15 points and Jonathan Paulino chipped in 11.
"I love my guys," Nunez said. "I have a bunch of kids who have a great attitude. It's a matter now of execution, on both ends — offensively and defensively.
"We got 31 shots, so that's the good thing. We're getting the shots up there. Soonor or later, they're going to go in. I have some guys who can shoot the ball."