Boys basketball: Unselfish, balanced Dixon attack stumps Stillman Valley

DIXON – Ball movement and ball control were the name of the game for Dixon on Thursday night against Stillman Valley at Lancaster Gym.

Assisting on 13 of 14 field goals (excluding putbacks) and committing zero turnovers in the first half, the Dukes built a 26-point advantage.

Riding a massive wave of momentum throughout the second half, Dixon finished a 62-24 Big Northern Conference win.

[ Photos: Stillman vs Dixon boys basketball ]

“It gives them less possessions, turnovers give them extra possessions, and we just didn’t really give them that option to score off of them,” Dixon junior Darius Harrington said about the team’s low turnover total.

The Dukes (9-1) seized control from the opening quarter, using an 11-0 run through the first 5:31. Harrington provided the spark with a layup in the first 33 seconds, and junior Cullen Shaner followed with a 3 almost two minutes later.

With a about three minutes left in the first quarter, junior Eli Davidson came off the bench and promptly nailed back-to-back 3s from the left wing.

Shaner hit again from 3-point range off a Harrington offensive rebound and kick out, senior Austin Hicks and Harrington followed with layups, then Davidson hit a free throw for a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I think we cut pretty well. They were kind of overplaying. We found each other cutting to the basket a lot,” Harrington said about the fast start. “3′s weren’t falling too much, but I know that we were getting to the basket and getting easy buckets. I thought really the only person that shot well was Eli. Eli was shooting from 3.

“He was the only one hitting out of all of us, I feel like, but we just found success down low in the paint, for the most part, and I thought we moved the ball pretty well and got into plays.”

Dixon’s torrid start continued into the second quarter with a 10-0 opening run. Harrington dropped in two putbacks around a layup by senior Alex Harrison, then Shaner and senior Bryce Feit made consecutive layups for a 29-4 Dukes’ lead with 5:02 to play.

Harrington got to the hoop twice more in the final 1:30 to push Dixon’s lead to 38-12 at halftime.

“Getting out and running fast break,” Shaner said about the first-half success. “We didn’t shoot the ball amazing in the first couple quarters, but we knew that if we secured the rebound, got out and ran, kicked it up, we could get some fast-break layups, and that’s what worked.”

Harrington made two more layups around a free throw by senior Mason Weigle in the first 1:30 of the third quarter, then hit a 3 from the left wing and knocked down a free throw for a 49-19 lead with about four minutes remaining in the quarter. Dixon subbed out three of its five starters with about 3:30 on the clock and took a 59-19 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Every possession matters. When you’re not turning the ball over at all, it’s great,” Shaner said. “And then the assists, we’ve been working as a team really well this year. It’s all just been working really well.”

The Dukes’ only turnover of the game came on a traveling violation with 5:40 to play in the fourth quarter. Ten of Dixon’s 11 varsity players recorded a stat of some kind. Nine of those scored at least one point.

“I just love the hype. I love when everybody gets to go out there and score, because we’re a team,” Harrington said. “I want everybody to be successful on the team and score. It’s fun to go out there and see everybody score and have a smile on their face at the end of the day. I thought that was the best part of the night.”

“It’s great. It really shows overall as a team how deep we are and how deep we can get, and that we all support each other,” Shaner said. “Even if you’re coming off the bench, you’re a part of the team. You’re there for us, we’re there for you.”

Harrington led the Dukes with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. Shaner totaled 10 points, five rebounds and five assists; Davidson scored nine points; Feit scored seven points; and Weigle chipped in three points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Senior Jacob Rhodes led Stillman Valley with six points and eight rebounds.