Boys basketball: Dixon outlasts Sycamore in overtime thriller

DIXON – For a good portion of the fourth quarter and overtime, Dixon was on upset alert against Sycamore.

But with a gritty defensive effort in the extra period and some clutch free-throw shooting from seniors Mason Weigle and Austin Hicks, the Dukes escaped with a 57-53 nonconference win Tuesday at Lancaster Gym.

[ Photos: Dixon vs Sycamore boys basketball ]

The Spartans (10-12) trailed by seven points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but rallied furiously to a 47-47 tie on a bank-shot, buzzer-beating 3 by senior Ben Larry.

With only a few seconds remaining in regulation, Sycamore scrambled to recover a loose ball, then dished it over to Larry for the improbable deep right-wing, contested 3.

After the shot dropped in, Dixon (19-3) braced itself for another four minutes.

“It’s unbelievable. It was a good shot,” Dixon junior guard Eli Davidson said. “We can’t give it up, it’s not like we gave them a look, it was a good shot by No. 21, a great hit, but as soon as we saw it go in, we were like, ‘All right. It’s time to show them what we’ve got, lock in, and go win this in overtime.’ ”

The Dukes were dealt a heavy blow only seven seconds into overtime when junior forward Darius Harrington fouled out on a layup attempt.

But Dixon displayed its depth in the final minutes. Sycamore took a 52-49 lead with 1:54 remaining after a Larry right-corner 3 and a Carter York layup.

The Dukes had the final response.

Davidson tied the game at 53 with a right-wing 3 with 1:05 to play, then Weigle knocked down two free throws for a 55-53 lead with 40.4 seconds left. Hicks hit two more free throws with 14.5 seconds left to stretch the lead to four.

“They came up really big on those [free throws]. I was hoping on the bench, I knew they had it in them, I just wanted them to believe that they could do it,” Harrington said. “Sometimes I feel like Mason gets a little bit timid, but I know he can do it, and I believe in him.

“But I knew they were going to hit those free throws, honestly, and I thought they did a really good job of focusing up.”

Sycamore opened the game with a 7-2 run in the first 2:39 with a right-wing 3 by Isaiah Feuerbach, a layup by Larry and a mid-range jumper by Jakob Shipley.

Dixon scored the next eight points to take a 10-7 lead, then went up 17-9 by the end of the first on a left-wing 3 by Hicks. Davidson completed a three-point play to spark the 8-0 run, then senior Bryce Feit sank a layup off junior Cullen Shaner’s inbounds pass to tie it. Harrington sank two free throws to take a two-point lead.

The Spartans got within 17-13 in the first 1:14 of the second quarter, then 21-15 on a Larry fast-break layup with just over three minutes remaining, but the Dukes responded with an 8-2 run. Shaner hit a top-of-the-key 3 off an offensive rebound and post kick-out pass, then Weigle drilled a left-corner 3. Davidson made a fast-break layup to stretch it to 29-17 by halftime.

Eight Dukes scored in the first quarter.

“That’s kind of our identity this year: sharing the ball. Everyone can do a little bit of everything,” Davidson said. “We’ve got players all over the court who can play defense, get you buckets, knock down shots. Whoever had the open shot, we were giving it to them, and we were scoring it.”

Dixon took its largest lead of the game at 36-20 with 5:24 left in the third quarter following a midrange jumper and left-corner 3 by Davidson. But Sycamore rallied to within 38-31 by the buzzer.

The Spartans surged on an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to take their first lead in over 20 minutes. Shipley, York and Larry hit layups in the first 1:48 to draw within 38-37, then Dixon called timeout, and Shipley sank the go-ahead layup for a 39-38 lead with 3:53 on the clock.

“I think we weren’t talking, we weren’t trying hard enough [in the first half],” Larry said. “In the second half, we just tried harder to get ourselves back in the game. I think we just executed our plays and just worked hard. We outworked them [in the second half].

“We showed we’re a good team and we can compete with anyone.”

Dixon retook the lead 42-39 with consecutive layups by Harrington as 2:29 remained in the fourth, then restored the three-point margin on two free throws by Hicks with 24 seconds left before Larry nailed the 3 to force overtime.

Davidson led the Dukes with 15 points and four rebounds; Harrington totaled 12 points, five rebounds and three steals; Weigle chipped in 10 points and six rebounds; and Hicks added nine points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Larry scored a game-high 19 points for Sycamore, Shipley and York scored 14 points each, and Feuerbach added six points. Shipley also had six rebounds and three steals.