RallyNorth.net

NORTH ANDOVER — Going after its 10th victory of the season, North Andover was forced by Haverhill to work a little overtime yesterday. And a little more. And a little more. And a little more. But the Scarlet Knights finally held off the Hillies in the fourth overtime for a 92-87 victory. By the time it was over, Haverhill had just four players on the court after five fouled out and one other was sidelined with an injury. “I’ve never been in a four-overtime game,” Knights coach Mike McVeigh said. “I’ve been at North Andover for 28 years and 34 years total coaching. I’ve had a three but never a four. It was a pretty good treat for anyone who wanted to give up the NFL today.” There was last-second excitement in the fourth quarter and each of the first three overtimes. North Andover (10-1) took its first lead of the second half on consecutive 3-pointers by Zach Karalis with 1:45 left, but the Scarlet Knights needed a driving lay up by Matt Sifferlen with 4.2 seconds remaining to tie the score 53-53. Alex Blane scored a lay-up to give North Andover a 62-60 lead with 21 seconds left in the first overtime, but the Hillies (3-6) forced another extra frame on a put back by Noah Vonleh with 3 seconds remaining. The Scarlet Knights built a five-point lead with 25 seconds left in the second overtime, but Parker Rogers netted a 3-pointer and Dennis Driftmeyer drove for a lay-up with 6.4 seconds left to send the game into the third overtime. North Andover quickly built a six-point advantage, and held an 83-81 lead after a free throw by Sifferlen with 10.1 seconds remaining. Blaine Joia, however, sent the game into a fourth overtime by taking the ball the length of the court and hitting a lay-up with 1 second left. “I knew we were going to win the game no matter what,” said North Andover senior Tommy O’Connell, who scored 16 points, all of them after the 5:22 mark of the fourth quarter. “It just came down to our defense.” Maybe the most amazing stat is the Scarlet Knights closed the game by converting five of their final seven free throws in the fourth overtime. After missing 21 of its first 38 attempts from the foul line, North Andover scored seven of its nine fourth-overtime points on free throws. “We are on and off,” McVeigh said. “We’re not consistent. I’m not going to say we’re always like that. Sometimes we shoot it pretty well. This is the closest game we’ve had since the (Greater Lawrence) Christmas tourney, and I think foul shooting becomes more paramount so this game was great for us.” The Scarlet Knights had won each of their previous seven games by at least 13 points, including six by 23 points or more. Winning its eighth straight, North Andover was led by Sifferlen’s 25 points while Karalis added 20. “It’s an experienced team,” McVeigh said. “We have six seniors who play in the top eight, and they’re all experienced. And the sophomore (Karalis) and freshman (Derek Collins, who chipped in 10 points) are both very good players. Each of those eight are capable of scoring, so we don’t look to just one or two guys. All of them are very unselfish and it shows.”