Dixie wins battle of Rte 35

Coming into Saturday’s matchup both Dixie and South had very similar teams. Young guards, stingy defenses, and offensive threats in the post. Johnny Myers for South and John Isaacs for Dixie were the two big men that had been doing the scoring for their teams. Fans were not disappointed as the big men banged under the baskets. Also as factors in the game, Dixie was playing their 3rd game of week. They had two league wins under their belt, but would they have enough gas left in their tanks with their 3rd game in 5 days. It is mentally and physically challenging to maintain a high level of play with little rest. And South was facing two fierce opponents back to back. They dropped their Friday night game against Franklin Monroe and badly wanted a win to get their momentum back.

In the battle of the big men, TVS came out ahead as Johnny Myers would score 10 (one of his lowest scores of the season) points against John Isaacs who was held to just 2 points. But the war was won by the supporting cast of Dixie. With their leading scorer throttled, Dixie needed points from elsewhere.

The game was very physical and very intense. The house was packed and the crowd got into the ebb and flow of the game. South played their familiar zone while Dixie used their man to man defense. Dixie mixed in a little full court pressure but didn’t have much effect and settled back to the half court defense. South got an early lead but Dixie closed to within 3 thanks to an Andrew Barnett trey at the buzzer.

This momentum carried over to the second quarter. With the inside game buttoned up thanks to a vigorous South defense, Dixie went to work on their outside game and Luke Bowling was a factor here as he connected with his jump shot. Andrew Barnett would hit a couple more timely 3’s for the night. Also turnovers were a factor as Dixie was able to capitalize on turnovers and score some points in transition. So now Dixie had found out where they could get some points. This gave Dixie a slim 25-22 lead at the half.

Although the scoreboard did not reflect much change, there was plenty of action on the floor in the third quarter. Like two heavy weights going toe to toe the teams gave each other their best and their defenses were bent and flexed – but held very well. At one point in the action, the post play came close to actual blows but the teams settled back down. A defensive clash it was as Dixie scored just 6 and South 4 in the third quarter.

Dixie needed to break loose from South in the 4th quarter. Coming out of the gate, it was Barnett who threw down a three - so now Dixie could slow down and deliberately run their offense. South went into a man to man defense and would extend that to full court. But Dixie was able to handle the pressure. Ominously for South they had 7 fouls and now every foul was a trip to the line for Dixie. Dixie was able to thwart any attempt at a TVS comeback and ran out the clock to win a hard fought defensive game 42-31. Dixie had 7 players score in this game, while South only had 4 players score.

Coach Augspurger of TVS spoke after the game, “We had a tough weekend, Friday night we were out prepared, they were ready, and we weren’t. Tonight the referee’s did not call much and there was a lot of physical contact and we did not handle that. They won the physicality battle. Now our defense played OK – I was pleased with our defense. But on the boards we were not strong enough. In some respects, this is a young group and you have to wonder if we are making improvements fast enough. We played two tough teams this weekend; we knew back in September that we needed to circle this weekend. We were mediocre against Mississinnewa Valley, best performance of the year against Eaton, and this week I don’t feel our focus was where it needed to be in practice. We weren’t ready to play like we needed to play. If we are going to be successful in Southwest Ohio this year we have got to get better.”

Dixie’s Coach Creamer spoke after the game, “It’s been a brutal week, our kids know that, and we came out of it 3-0. We are tired, but we earned that fatigue – and we earned 3 wins. I love our character and I really, really love our toughness. We want to do the dirty work and we want to do the dirty work more than the team we are playing.”

On holding Johnny Myers to 10 points, “We are fortunate in that we have some length that is athletic enough to go out and guard him – not to let him operate in the open court like he wants to. He wants to face up and drive to the basket and we were able to defend that. Matt Isaacs, Mike Smiley, and Zach Grubb all took turns defending him.

On John Isaacs being held to 2 points, “Offensively and on the offensive and defensive glass, he has put us on his back the previous three games. It was someone else’s turn today. John was frustrated, but he realizes that every night can’t be his night – that’s why it is a team game. “