FINAL:
ANDOVER 61
CENTRAL 44

The Mustangs may have limped to the finish line to end the regular season, but they entered Wednesday night determined to not have history repeat itself. Central had seen its season end in Andover’s gym the year before, in a hard fought 65-61 first round sub-state defeat.

Central looked to snap two different streaks in beating Andover and winning its first sub-state game for the first time since 2019.

While the final score may look a lot like the final scores of many meetings between the two teams before, Wednesday night actually proved to tell a different story.

Central scored on its first possession but didn’t scratch the rest of the quarter. They were able to defend well and keep it within 10 after one.

A much more productive second quarter followed and Andover left the court for halftime feeling the pressure of a heavy favorite, which was now in a dogfight. Andover led 19-17 at the break.

The Mustangs knew they had to switch up the gameplan to keep it close and those adjustments made a huge difference in the first half.

Not having a shot clock in sub-state is big advantage for the underdog, allowing them to hold the ball in a close game and take over a minute to shoot if they choose.

Central also deployed a different zone defense which took a few possessions for Andover to dissect.

Andover made adjustments in the second half centered around ball pressure and forcing even more turnovers from Central which seemed to always lead to easy layups at the other end.

With Andover’s defensive pressure and Central’s turnovers emerging in the second half, Andover pulled away late to advance.

Senior Josh Kim led the way with 14 points for Andover while junior Kaden Snyder led the way for Central scoring 15 points.