It’s not quite fair to say that Mac Annus single-handedly won a Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 1 North semifinal Tuesday night. But he almost did.
Annus’ Belmont (Mass.) High School squad cruised past visiting Gloucester (Mass.) High on the back of Annus’ sharpshooting, which was as strong as anyone at any level of basketball this year. The junior connected on 12-of-14 treys en route to a 38-point explosion that paced Belmont’s 79-59 win.
“A game like this is nothing outside his capabilities,” Belmont coach Adam Pritchard told the Belmont Citizen-Herald. “I’ve seen him make 15, 16 in a row in practice. He’s a very competent shooter. And he can get it off quick.”
That’s an understatement. At one point Annus connected on eight straight shots, including seven threes, as Belmont turned an 11-point deficit into a nine-point halftime lead.
Incredibly, Annus could have scored even more. The junior said that on nights when, “Every one of them felt good coming off my fingertips,” the sky is the limit. That’s good because his teammates might need it in the North final; the Marauders will take on perennial Division 2 state contender North Andover on Saturday.
