Defense leads Andover by rival Central Catholic

Dave Fazio’s team is at the top of its game as tournament time approaches.

Luca Palermo scored 19 points while freshman Josh Roux buried five 3-pointers as No. 3 Andover defeated Merrimack Valley Conference boys basketball rival No. 11 Central Catholic, 49-42, on Tuesday night at Andover High School.

The Golden Warriors (123, 11-1) clinched a share of the MVC Large Division and have defeated their rival Raiders on two of three occasions.

“It’s impressive,” said Fazio, Andover’s head coach. “These kids were not ranked in the preseason and have just gone about their business every day.”

Defensively, Andover was outstanding, holding its visitors to just four points in the first quarter and 10 points in the third. The result was a lead that got as large as 19, 49-30, with 5:25 remaining.

“It’s the leadership of our seniors that allow our underclassmen to do so well,” Fazio said. “Our seniors find Josh and Luca. If they don’t score or they do score, they don’t mind. As long as we win. That’s the difference.”

In front of a full house, Palermo stole the show in the opening minutes. The sophomore collected all 11 Andover points in the first quarter to put the hosts up 11-4 after one. In the second, Palermo continued to dominate inside as the Golden Warriors opened up a double digit lead before Central Catholic star sophomore Javi Lopez put home a pair of buckets to keep the Raiders within striking distance.

Roux, however, came to life for Andover as the sharpshooter buried a pair of triples to catapult the Golden Warriors to a 30-18 lead at the break.

While the Raiders continued to struggle mightily from the field, connecting on just two field goals in the third frame, Roux put on a shooting clinic by connecting on three more triples to push Andover’s lead to 45-28 after three. Raiders forward John Kelley tried to keep his team within range with six points in a minute span to trim the deficit to nine, 49-40, with 1:31 left.

The Golden Warriors controlled possession and held the Raiders to just two points over the final 90 seconds to secure the win.