NORTH ANDOVER — Beverly High’s boys basketball is intent on showcasing its talent and depth this winter.
Sunday night, the Panthers got the job done on their biggest stage of the young season.
In a battle of two of the state’s top five teams, No. 3 Beverly ran away from No. 5 Andover, 74-58. And the triumphant Panthers (now 4-0) did it their way.
“It’s always the next man picking each other up. It’s like a brotherhood going here, and we love it,” said senior captain Jacob Klass, who led four Panthers into double figures with 18 points.
The Panthers, the No. 1 boys seed in this year’s CMCC tournament, led at at all four junctures, turning a 16-14 lead after one quarter into a 36-29 halftime advantage. The margin moved to a dozen points after three, and fourth seeded Andover never really threatened.
“It feels good. We’ve put in a lot of hard work, and we have the ability here to bounce back. We watched a lot of film, and we were dialed-in,” said Klass.
“They have some great players, a legendary coach (in Dave Fazio). We’ve got a lot of respect for them. We just really focused on the scouting report and the game plan, and we did a great job.”
Beverly will now move on to Tuesday night’s title game where it will challenge Central Catholic, another top-10 team in the state.
“It’s the best basketball tournament in New England,” said Klass. “We can’t wait.”
Eli Landman had his second straight double-figure scoring night in the tourney for Beverly, backing up Klass with 17 points. Domenic Panniello added 13, and Danny Pierce had 10.
Beverly had opened the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic on Saturday by blasting No. 8 seed St. John’s Prep, 77-40. It was their first game in 11 days, but they had little trouble establishing their dominance. Klass scored a game high 25 points for the Orange-and-Black in the win, with Landman and Panniello adding 13 points apiece. The Panthers led at the break on Saturday and 58-31 after three quarters.