By Brian Cannon, Andover Class of 1973
After being down by 6 at the half with 3 starters having 3 fouls each, Andover-Whitesville played a gritty, tough and strong defensive second half to beat Elba at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. MVP Brody Vance was hamstrung by 3 fouls in the first quarter but played a smart second half on defense and offense. This was a complete team win and the did not panic and worked harder on defense in the second half.
Seniors Colton Calladine, James Miller Young and Trey Kent provided great leadership in the second half along with junior starters Vinny Joyce and Jake Mattison who played great defense all game while playing with 4 and 3 fouls respectively. The A-W offense came alive in the second half to spark the team to Andover’s first Section V Boys Basketball title since 1955.
This 2025-26 team plays extremely tough team defense, perhaps better than any Andover team before them. The players and coaching staff did not panic and focused on turning Elbas halftime lead into a 54-47 A-W victory!
Next up for AW is a Trip to Buffalo State on Friday March 13 to face Section 6 Class D champion Clymer, who beat Sherman, 41-29 on Saturday. On the line is a state final 4 tournament berth for the winner.
With this Victory AW improves to 21-2, tying an Andover record for most team victories in a season withe 1955 and 1989 teams. Good luck to Coach Joyce and his hard working AW team next week in Buffalo!
FOR THE KIDS
It was a an Andover-Whitesville Sweep this weekend as the AW 5-6 grade travel team Coached by Matthew Cannon beat Alfred Almond 27-10 in the Panther Den Saturday afternoon. At the end of the game Coach Jimmy Joyce and his son Vinnie brought the Section V class D Basketball trophy to show the Team and let them hold it giving them inspiration to keep improving and playing!
It’s a great weekend in Andover and Whitesville!
From Coach Matthew Cannon: The A/W 5/6 travel team kept the good vibes going with a victory over Alfred Almond and we appreciated the inspiring words after the game from Coach Joyce … keep it going in Buffalo next week!
