Boys basketball: Home-court edge helps Dixon top Princeton

DIXON – Home-court advantage is a big thing for the Dixon boys basketball team. Thursday night’s nonconference game against Princeton was the perfect example.

The Dukes hit six of their first eight shots and built a double-digit lead less than three minutes into the second quarter on their way to a 60-43 win over the Tigers to remain unbeaten at Lancaster Gym.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Princeton boys basketball ]

“We practice in here everyday, so everything’s just routine. It’s basically a mindset; we know the shot’s going in every time,” senior guard Austin Hicks said. “And defense definitely turns into offense. If we get a steal or force a miss, we can get out in transition for a layup or an open 3.

“It’s good to come out and start fast and get the crowd going; it definitely makes the environment better. If we’re going on a 6-0 run, the crowd’s going to help it just keep going.”

The run this time was actually an 18-2 surge from the 4:49 mark of the first quarter to the 4:51 mark of the second, turning a three-point deficit into a 22-9 lead.

Trailing 7-4 after a 3-pointer by Princeton’s Jordan Reinhardt, Hicks drove to the basket for a layup and then Darius Harrington hit a 3 off a kick-out pass from Mason Weigle to ignite the surge.

“I thought we moved the ball pretty well and got open looks. We kind of overwhelmed them, honestly, because we were hitting pretty good the first and second quarter, just knocking down open looks,” said Harrington, who poured in a career-high 30 points to go with six rebounds and two assists. “I think we just got good looks because we were dishing the ball, and I think they were overplaying a little bit. We just kind of got going off of that, and honestly our energy was there and we were just ready to play.”

Dixon (12-1) assisted on 17 of its 25 field goals and shot 56.8% from the field (25-for-44). Harrington was an efficient 12 for 16 from the floor and 4 for 4 from the free throw line to lead the charge.

Eli Davidson, Cullen Shaner and Bryce Feit hit 3s in the second quarter, and Hicks found Harrington for a layup off a pretty baseline cut for a 31-21 halftime lead.

But Princeton (7-6) picked it up out of the locker room, scoring six quick points. The first four came on one possession as Noah LaPorte scored inside and was fouled, but missed the free throw – and Daniel Sousa grabbed the offensive rebound and dished to Tyson Phillips for another layup.

Sousa’s baseline cut led to a layup off an assist from LaPorte the next trip down the court, and the Tigers were within 31-27 just a minute-and-a-half into the third quarter.

“We made shots and played defense. I thought we communicated better from the get-go in the third quarter. We had talked [at halftime] about communication and the ball sticking; I thought the ball stuck in our hands a little bit too much in the first half, so I thought we did a better job of moving the ball, moving some players around offensively,” Princeton coach Jason Smith said. “And then defensively, we just communicated, and they missed some shots and we got some rebounds, held them to one-and-done, and that’s what did it.

“But we had to sustain that and be more consistent with that against a good team like this, or else they’re going to do what they did to us.”

The Dukes had the answer, as Harrington scored the next six points in the paint before Hicks nailed a 3 to push the lead to 40-30 with 2:59 left in the third.

After a Reinhardt 3, Hicks drove the lane for a layup to end the period, then Harrington put back his own miss to open the fourth before finding Feit on the fast break after a long rebound to make it 46-33 Dixon with 5:39 remaining.

“I thought we turned it up, honestly, because we knew they were going to come barging out of halftime and make a run at us. But we just battled back and just kept hitting shots,” Harrington said. “I thought we played defense pretty well that second half, we kind of slowed them down. We were getting out and running, and just finding the open guys and hitting open shots. I thought that’s what really translated to getting the lead and then getting the win.”

Princeton got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way. Back-to-back transition baskets by Harrington and Hicks led to both teams emptying their benches for the final two-and-a-half minutes.

Hicks had 11 points and two assists, and Shaner and Feit both finished with five points, three assists and two steals; Feit had three rebounds and Shaner grabbed two. Davidson dished three assists to go with his 3-pointer, while Brady Feit and Alex Harrison each had two points and two steals; Harrison pulled down four boards, and Brady Feit added three.

“They’re so patient offensively that it makes you struggle a little bit defensively because they eventually find an open shot,” Smith said of the Dukes. “They like to run their offense for 30 or 40 seconds at a time; they’re an old-school mentality offensive team that really shares the ball well, and I thought we struggled with that tonight.

“I was excited to come in and play against a team like that because I thought offensively, we could’ve been just as good, but we struggled. We’ve just got to flush this game and get ready for another one [Friday].”

Reinhardt hit four 3s and finished with 14 points for the Tigers, while Sousa added 10 points and six rebounds. LaPorte had eight points, six rebounds and two assists, while Phillips and Korte Lawson each scored two points; Lawson dished four assists and nabbed two steals, and Phillips chipped in two rebounds and two assists.