Dixon hands Burlington Central 1st loss

Burlington Central's scouting report of Dixon labeled the Dukes' Nebraska-bound Isaiah Roby a "triple-double threat."

Roby proved that analysis spot on, finishing with 13 points, 23 rebounds and 15 blocked shots as Dixon handed Burlington Central its first loss of the season, 57-55 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the 53rd annual Plano Christmas Classic.

The Rockets didn't go down without a fight, cutting a 15-point deficit to 1 in the final minute. Twice the Rockets stole the ball and had a chance to take the lead, each time driving to the basket but not being able to convert with the 6-foot-8 Roby protecting the rim.

Burlington Central had one final chance after Dixon missed 2 free throws with 11 seconds to go but TaVontae Harris, who gave the Rockets a chance with 4 steals during their comeback, couldn't get his runner to go in the closing seconds.

"We were right there," Rockets senior guard Ethan Mayfield said. "I'm not that upset about it because the way we went out still feels kind of good. We were right there with a chance to win."

Dixon (8-1), the defending tournament champion, will play LaSalle-Peru for the championship Wednesday night with a chance to avenge its only loss of the season, 53-49 in overtime.

Burlington Central (10-1) faces Newark (11-2) for third place at 6:30 p.m.

Roby only made 1 field goal in the game, a dunk in a first quarter that saw the Dukes hit the Rockets with a 7-0 run to open the game while building a 23-10 lead.

But Roby did plenty of damage at the free-throw line, making 11 of 16, in addition to all the blocked shots and rebounds.

"He impacts the game in a lot of different ways," Porto said. "I thought we did a pretty good job on him. We gave ourselves a chance today. That's all you can ask against a talent like that and team like that."

Trailing 51-36 early in the fourth quarter and 54-43 with four minutes remaining, the Rockets mounted a furious charge.

Ryan Fitzgerald started an 11-1 run with a bucket. Luke McCurdy found a cutting Joseph Ratzek for 2, and Fitzgerald's putback brought the Rockets within 54-49.

After a Roby free throw, Fitzgerald scored again inside, then stole the ball and drove for a layup while getting fouled to cut Dixon's lead to 55-54 with: 54 left.

Burlington came up with 2 more steals with its frantic pressure but couldn't convert a potential go-ahead bucket.

"We couldn't get that final one to drop for us," Porto said. "I know it's a loss but we come here to get better and I think we found something in that second half. They fought hard. very pleased with the effort and fight and will to keep getting after people."

Fitzgerald scored 14 points and Mayfield had 12 for the Rockets who nearly won despite shooting just 31.3 percent (21 of 67 from the field, and 0 for 10 on 3s.

"We need to handle more physical games when it gets to the fourth quarter and more contact is allowed," Dixon coach Jason Mead said. "We were letting Burlington Central dictate the pace of the game in the fourth quarter and they were being more physical. And we need to make free throws."