Dixon downs Aurora Christian in Plano semifinals
Dixon coach Jason Mead has a message for any talk about his team being all about Nebraska-bound Isiah Roby.
"Anybody who thinks we are a one-man team hasn't seen us play," Mead said. "They see the Twitter stuff. We have a bunch of guys who have been working 12 months for a long time to become really good high school basketball players."
Aurora Christian found that out the hard way Monday night in the semifinals of the 52nd annual Plano Christmas Classic.
The top-seeded Dukes showed off all their pieces, opening a 17-point halftime lead on their way to a 66-47 victory.
Dixon (11-0), who will play Mendota on Tuesday for its first Plano title, has come a long way from the program that finished dead last in this tournament in Mead's first two years.
Roby, a versatile 6-foot-8 forward, flashed his all-around skills with 13 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots. Aurora Christian turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, yet still was outrebounded 31-16.
"The second half was extremely physical and I was pleased with our ability to persevere and keep the lead," said Mead, adding the Eagles were "by far" their most physical opponent this year. "Out where we are they don't call games like that. There would have been 100 fouls in that game."
Aurora Christian (8-2) had its 8-game winning streak snapped. The Eagles, who have finished third in this tournament the past two years, will play Morris at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the third-place game.
Roby scored 11 points in the first half and also sent the Eagles' Zach Singer to the bench with his third foul with 5:48 left in the half.
Singer finished with 2 points and leading scorer RD Lutze had 4, leaving the Eagles with quite an uphill battle when the Dukes pushed their lead to 36-16.
"We came out and I don't think we brought it and they did bring it," Eagles coach Pat McNamara said. "They killed us on the boards. We had a lot of dribbling around on offense and you can't beat good teams (like that). We had to play our 'A' game and we didn't."
McNamara's son Pat started the Eagles' comeback by hitting a 60-foot shot to beat the halftime buzzer.
"I thought that might have sparked something. Against good teams we can't start out slow," said McNamara, who compared his heave with the one Lutze made last year to beat Marmion.
The Eagles built off the shot in the second half, coming out with greater intensity especially on the defensive end. Wes Wolfe took the challenge of checking Roby and held him to 2 free throws in the second half.
Trailing 51-35 after three quarters, Jeremiah Wright opened the fourth with a pair of buckets and McNamara scored to bring the Eagles within 54-41.
They never got closer, but they did make the Dukes work.
"When we play Marmion and Francis every play we are getting chucked on a screen. We like playing that way," said McNamara, whose dad praised his team's effort after halftime.
"The guys knew they played bad (in the first half)," the Eagles coach said.
McNamara (13 points) and Wolfe (11) led the Eagles while four Dukes reached double figures and their fifth scored 8.
"They are very good," coach McNamara said. "They have five good players with varying skills and they fit like a glove. They are going west in 3A. I think they can make a run."