Boys basketball: Dixon builds lead, answers second-half surge to top McHenry

DIXON – Even when McHenry was making runs at them, the Dixon Dukes never looked out of control Saturday afternoon at Lancaster Gym.

The Dukes built a double-digit lead in the first half, then answered the Warriors’ third-quarter surge to pull away for a 55-43 win.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. McHenry boys basketball ]

Dixon (11-6) took control with a 16-2 run to end the first quarter and start the second, with a 3-pointer by Wyatt Wetzell and a three-point play by Darius Harrington to start the surge, then 3s by Austin Hicks and Mason Weigle to end it.

“It was a new defense, so we had to recognize it and run whatever we needed to run to get buckets. We did a good job of that today,” Hicks said. “It’s nice to get the momentum going with some easy buckets, some open looks. We trust everybody on our team, so if we can get the ball down low, we know it’s going to be a good possession.”

McHenry (8-11) got 3s from Marko Visnjevac and Zack Maness to cut the deficit to 23-17 midway through the second quarter, but another Weigle 3 put Dixon up 28-19 at halftime.

Visnjevac and Adam Anwar hit 3s in an 11-4 Warriors run to get within 32-30 with 1:46 let in the third quarter, as McHenry picked up the tempo on offense and the pressure on defense.

“We were just keeping it simple and just playing hard, knowing what we could do. Kick-out 3s, just playing simple and getting to the rim,” said Visnjevac, who led the Warriors with 26 points and eight rebounds. “I think when we’re not in our head and we’re just playing hard, I think we can beat any team. But sometimes we overthink it, and today we took some bad shots and weren’t able to handle some pressure, and it kind of went downhill after the third quarter.”

Dixon got a pair of putbacks by Matt Warkins to close the third, then Harrington scored on a pick-and-roll play with Wetzell before Jath St. Pier tracked down a long rebound in the lefthand corner and nailed a 3.

Wetzell then found Hicks wide open under the basket for a layup and a 45-34 lead with 3:18 remaining.

“I think we did a great job today in being aggressive while also being smart,” Harrington said. “We used our pump-fakes pretty well, and we got into them and made them foul us – and we shot a bunch of free throws there at the end.”

The Dukes were 9 for 10 from the line in the fourth quarter to seal the win, with Hicks, Harrington and Wetzell all cashing in.

Dixon also handled McHenry’s full-court press and half-court trap down the stretch, while at the same time ramping up its own defense to slow down McHenry’s surge.

“I’d say the key today was we wanted to come out aggressive and speed them up. We wanted to make them hurry, then close out on their shooters and get rebounds,” Wetzell said. “They basically ran a lot of what we run in our practice; Coach is throwing full-court press at us all practice, basically, so we know how to handle that. He prepared us for something like that, and we were able to keep our composure and not let it get to us.”

Harrington led the Dukes with 17 points and six rebounds, and he also dished two assists. Wetzell finished with 12 points, five assists and two steals, and Hicks had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Weigle hit two 3s for six points, St. Pier scored five, and Warkins chipped in four points and four rebounds.

Dixon turned 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points, and also committed just six turnovers while forcing 16 by McHenry.

Harrington said playing with the lead was a big reason for Dixon’s ability to be aggressive, but at the same time stay patient on offense.

“It’s easier to play from ahead because you don’t really have to force things to score as much, like you do sometimes if you’re down and trying to get back into it,” he said. “We can be more patient and smarter with the ball, which leads to better offense and fewer turnovers.”

Zack Maness had nine points and three assists for the Warriors, and 6-foot-5 freshman Anwar added five points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Caleb Jett chipped in three points, two assists and two steals.

“For us, it’s all mindset. We showed that we’re capable to make the tough plays, … but also getting sped up,” McHenry coach Chris Madson said. “I thought they did a good job early on of attacking our zone, so we kind of got out of that and played better man-to-man. We cut it to two, 32-30, went on a great run … but moving forward in the fourth, they went on a huge 15-4 run to kind of bust it right back open.

“It’s just a mentality, and it’s knowing that teams are going to force you to your weakness – and then still playing into that weakness. It’s kind of an in-between-the-ears type thing right now with our guys, because they’ve showed that they’re capable, but are they willing? I thought Dixon did a good job of kind of forcing us into those moments.”