Boys basketball: Dixon survives 13-point fourth-quarter rally to top Rochelle

DIXON – The Dixon Dukes and Rochelle Hubs exchanged body blows throughout the first half of their nonconference game Monday night at Lancaster Gym.

The Dukes (2-3) finally pulled away at the start of the fourth quarter, amassing a 14-point lead, but the Hubs (2-3) refused to quit. With a 13-0 run in the last six minutes, and a defensive stop in the last 45 seconds, Rochelle had one final attempt to win the game.

Jack Lodico hoisted a desperation mid-range jumper over Wyatt Wetzell and Darius Harrington in the final four seconds, but it came up short, and Jath St. Pier got the rebound. After drawing the intentional foul, St. Pier hit two free throws with one second remaining, sealing the 54-51 win for Dixon.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Rochelle boys basketball ]

“Really, all you can do is put a hand up, and if they make a tough shot, they make a tough shot,” Harrington said of the last defensive possession.

“I was kind of nervous,” Dixon guard Cullen Shaner said. “We were stuck at 52 for a while and had to knock down free throws. But we ended up getting it done, so that’s all that matters.”

In the first quarter, the Dukes and Hubs traded baskets up to a 9-9 tie. A Shaner layup in the final minute captured an 11-9 lead for Dixon, then a Harrington double-clutch layup stretched the lead to 13-9 just before the first quarter expired.

The Hubs briefly regained the lead at 18-17 on a David Gerber layup with 4:15 left in the half, but the Dukes were quick to take back momentum.

A Grant Boss putback made it 19-18 Dixon with 3:17 to go, then Wetzell and Shaner layups stretched it to 23-18. A Boss driving layup off a Matt Warkins post pass made it a 25-18 game.

Wetzell nailed a left-corner 3 for a 28-22 advantage with 42 seconds left, before an Eli Luxton technical free throw pulled Rochelle within 28-25 in the last 16 seconds.

The Dukes maintained their three-point lead at halftime.

“Hustle for 50/50 balls and knocking down good quality shots [helped us take the first-half lead],” Harrington said.

Dixon surged to a 46-36 third-quarter lead with an 18-11 run.

A Harrington and-1 put back pushed the lead to 33-28 in the first 1:13 of the period, then a Wetzell strip and assist to Bryce Feit for a runout layup expanded it to 39-31 with 3:43 to go.

“We knew we had to come out of halftime hot, because they were going to be doing the same thing,” Shaner said. “And once we started getting in the groove again, we played really well together.”

Luxton hit a top-of-the-key 3 to draw Rochelle within 39-36 at the 1:45 mark, but the Dukes closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run.

A Harrington putback, a Shaner right-wing 3 and a Harrington driving layup sparked the run over the last 1:30 of the third quarter.

“I think we just kept missing shots and turning the ball over,” Luxton said of the third-quarter lull. “That’s what that was.”

A Feit layup put the Dukes ahead 52-38 in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Hubs came storming back, using a 13-0 run over the next 5:15 to make it a one-point game.

A pair of Luxton free throws made it an eight-point game at the 4:57 mark. A Raul Aguirre driving layup cut the deficit to six points. A Luxton steal and free throw on the extra possession made it 52-49 with 1:20 to go, then Lodico hit two free throws with 46.1 seconds left to reach 52-51.

Harrington scored 12 points and snagged eight rebounds as the leader for Dixon in both categories. Shaner scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds, Feit scored eight points and pulled in seven rebounds, and Matt Warkins scored six points and grabbed five rebounds.

Luxton scored 23 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and a block for the Hubs.