Excitement, Heart, and Hustle for AE/MS Basketball

Boys, girls teams working hard and improving

By Jim Tucker, AE/MS

 

White-jersied AE/MS Eagles Jarrett Benson, Robbie Schwendler, and Dillan Reed close out the hoop with tough defense from a hard-charging Sunapee offense.
White-jersied AE/MS Eagles Jarrett Benson, Robbie Schwendler, and Dillan Reed close out the hoop with tough defense from a hard-charging Sunapee offense.

The basketball season is well underway at Andover Elementary/Middle School. The boys and girls teams have begun the season with a lot of excitement and enjoyment. Along with hustle and heart, the teams have taken the court with Eagle pride.

AE/MS is very pleased to announce that we have two new coaches joining the basketball family this year. The girls will be coached by Ms. Michelle Keezer, our middle school math teacher at AE/MS. The boys will be coached by Mr. Michael Pritchard, a recent graduate of Norwich University, who currently works for Bonin Architects and Associates in New London.

The two teams were on the road for their first games of the season, playing against Franklin Middle School. Both teams jumped out to commanding leads and never looked back for their first wins of the season.

The girls played well together as a true team should. Excellent passing and great defense allowed them to dominate on the court. Vienna Marcus shared her thoughts on the first game. “My first basketball game ever was very exciting. It was totally new and confusing, but playing on a girls team with all of my friends and pulling off a win was beyond exciting!”

The boys created a challenge defensively for Franklin. The boys used their tough defense to jump out to a lead. The boys took care of the ball and finished strong for their first win. William Furtkamp commented after the game, “I think the season has started off really well, having some height down low has really helped out the team. Winning our first game was a good confidence booster.”

On Saturday, December 12, both teams participated in the seventh annual Mount Kearsarge Middle School Hoop Fest in Sutton. It was a great day of basketball and friendly rivalries among schools in the local area. The boys and girls played several games in one day.

The girls played with a lot of heart and improved as the day went on. In the end, they did not walk away with any wins, finishing 0-4 on the day. Ryelle Jenifer, a returning player from last year, said, “The Hoop Fest at Kearsarge was a very fun and exciting experience. It showed us that we need to hustle more and work on teamwork skills. But overall, it was very fun!”

The boys played hard all day long. Their hustle kept them in most games. They finished with a record of 2-3. Riley Keezer, an eighth grader, stated, “I thought Hoop Fest at Kearsarge was an eye-opening experience for the team. It helped us realize that we need to work as a team, which paid off in the long run.”

Overall it was an awesome day of basketball. Both teams made some new friends from other schools and continued to work on their team basketball skills. Way to go, Eagles!

The AE/MS Eagles traveled to Campton on January 6. The night started with the girls middle school game. The girls started out strong. They moved the ball well with passes and played well as a team. With a lot of hustle, they stayed in the game. In the end, Campton was just too much for the Lady Eagles.

The boys came out on fire. With good defense, the team stayed with Campton the whole way. They rallied in the fourth quarter; with five seconds left, they pulled within three points. But the boys lost in the end, 33-30.

The Eagles really got no rest, as they played the next night against their local rivals from Sunapee.

The girls struggled early with Sunapee’s half-court press. They were able to settle down a little and make some nice passes. The girls continued to show a lot of heart as the strong Sunapee team was just too much for them.

The boys battled all night with Sunapee. With great rebounding and tough defense, they held off a strong-charging Sunapee team. The boys held the lead in the fourth quarter and pulled off another win.

Andover Girls Basketball team came up short in the game against Kearsarge but certainly didn’t go down without a fight. The entire team improved on becoming more aggressive on defense, with boxing out underneath and putting pressure on the ball. Our defense really came out strong in the second half and held Kearsarge to only scoring six points. Keep up the great work!

The Andover boys started the second game at Kearsarge a little flat. This allowed the Kearsarge team to jump out to an early lead. With great teamwork, the Eagles battled back to regain the lead. With everyone getting good playing time and awesome leadership from the eighth graders, the team was able to hold off the Kearsarge Cougars for a three-point victory. Way to go, Eagles!

Both teams have been working hard and are improving their skill level with each game. The rest of the season will be full of some very exciting games. Come out and enjoy some excellent basketball. Please check out the school Web site for the schedule and for updates of the teams’ great progress.