Dixon, Miller Lead Men’s Basketball to 102-95 Victory

STAY CONNECTED: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW: Text & Email Alerts
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE APPS: iOS (iPhone/iPad) | Android

CHICAGO, Ill. — Marygrove men’s basketball put one the win column for the first time this season Friday (Nov. 28) with a 102-95 victory over  the Trinity Christian College Trolls (Ill.) at the Saint Xavier University Classic in Chicago. The Mustangs (1-6) drained a season-high 14 three pointers to earn the non-conference victory as senior guard Darryll Dixon and redshirt freshman Kenneth Miller combined for 58 points on 10 three pointers to lead the Green and Gold’s offensive output in day one of two at the Chicago-based holiday classic.

The Trolls went ahead first, splitting a pair of free throws before the Mustangs’ junior wing Diante Taylor (Battle Creek, Mich./Central High School) responded with two three pointers to put the Green and Gold ahead for good, 6-1, in the early going. The pair of deep connections ignited an offensive onslaught as the Mustangs drained a season-high 11 three pointers in the first half to take a 51-32 lead into the halftime break.

[Kenneth] Miller (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc High School) keyed the high-octane first half for the Mustangs, dropping in a career-high five triples for 15 first half points. Miller converted 5-of-6 attempts from three-point land to lead the Mustangs and Dixon (Flint, Mich./Hamady High School) made 2-of-5 from deep, including a half court heave at the buzzer to put the Mustangs up 19 at the break.

The Mustangs continued their strong shooting night in the latter stanza, going ahead by 25 points, 77-52, with 8:28 remaining in the neutral-site contest. Sporting the best nickname of any opponent on the Mustangs slate this season, the Trolls refused to back down, cutting the Mustangs lead to single digits with 41 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Trolls netted 63 second-half points to spark a resurgence, but Dixon, Miller and the Mustangs connected on 57% of their second-half field goals to stave off any shot at a comeback in the 102-95 decision. The Mustangs never trailed after their first offensive possession as the team shot 56.5% from the floor (35-of-62) and 51.9% from three-point territory (14-of-27) to win by three possessions.

Dropping in 51 points in each half, the Mustangs reached the century mark for the first time since posting an identical score in a 102-95 win over Pittsburgh’s Point Park University on Nov. 12, 2011 in Adrian, Mich. The triple-digit outburst also marked the first time the Mustangs reached the 100-point plateau under the direction of second-year head coach Craig Covington.

Dixon was one of many with a hot hand for the Mustangs Friday evening as the senior guard paced the Mustangs with a season-high 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting. The 34-point total left the senior guard six points shy of tying his career-high of 40 points set last year at Siena Heights.

Miller finished the night with 24 points, posting a new career-high on 6-of-10 shooting overall and a 5-of-8 performance from three-point land. The freshman guard led the Mustangs in assists with six, while Dixon followed with five to put the finishing touches on well-rounded nights for the Flint-area guards.

Taylor had a strong night as well for the Mustangs with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Tyler Sykes (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson High School) chipped in with 12 points of his own. Elijah Ingram (Detroit, Mich./Consortium High School) tallied a hard-working 10 points and JuJuan Armstrong (Detroit, Mich./Michigan-Dearborn) pulled down seven boards to go along with four points and two assists in the Mustangs win.

The Trolls were led by David Buffham with 18 points and six rebounds.

The Mustangs face the host Cougars Saturday (Nov. 29) at 4 p.m. ET before heading back to the Motor City to regroup for a Monday night (Dec. 1) exhibition tilt at NCAA DI Eastern Michigan University. Saturday’s game against the Cougars will feature a live video stream on portal.stretchinternet.com/sxu/.

MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | tjohnston@marygrove.edu | @tjohnston56
MARYGROVE BROADCASTS: Mustang Sports Network | Twitter
SOCIAL MEDIA: Men’s Basketball on Twitter