Dixon Nets 20, Moves to Second All-Time in Road Setback

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

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A strong first-half performance by Indiana Tech was enough to send Marygrove men’s basketball to their eighth-straight defeat as the host Warriors won, 103-81, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Wednesday (Jan. 21) night. The Mustangs last victory came out of conference play when they topped Olivet (Mich.) on Dec. 15 by a 78-72 final tally.

The Warriors (9-13, 6-8 WHAC) went ahead early in Wednesday’s WHAC tilt and never looked back behind a staggering first half by Franklin Lindsey. The Warriors’ forward amassed 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first half to lead the hosts to a 51-31 halftime advantage.

The stellar first-half effort, combined with10 points from Tech’s Chester McFadden, was the difference in the first half as the Warriors jumped out to the 20-point halftime edge over the Mustangs (3-18, 1-12 WHAC). The Mustangs battled, but could not keep pace with a Warriors team that took a 24-12 points in the paint advantage and 11-0 points off turnovers edge through the first 20 minutes of action Wednesday evening.

Darryll Dixon (Flint, Mich./Hamady High School) paced the Mustangs early with seven first-half points, but it was not enough as the Green and Gold struggled offensively to shoot 33.3 percent in the opening stanza. The Warriors countered with a 54.5 percent clip from the floor in the first half.

Despite the uneven first half, second-year head coach Craig Covington was able to get offensive production out of every member of the squad as all nine Mustangs that entered the game scored.

Second half action saw the Mustangs put forth a strong effort, but the opening half proved to be the difference as the Warriors went on to win the conference contest by 22 points.

The Mustangs committed 14 turnovers on the night, leading to the Warriors taking a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers. The 13-point differential and a 46-28 points in the paint advantage for the Warriors kept the Mustangs at bay, leaving Covington and crew searching for the first victory of the 2015 calendar year.

Dixon, one of the country’s top scorers, dropped in a game-high 20 points, adding six rebounds and four assists to complete a well-rounded night on the hardwood. The 20-point effort was enough to pull Dixon into sole possession of second place all-time on the Mustangs’ scoring ranks – passing former Marygrove great Dennis Foster to finish the night with 1,484 career points.

The 20-point night left Dixon 16 points shy of becoming the second Mustang to tally 1,500 career points.

Dixon was followed by fellow 1,000-point club member Diante Taylor (Battle Creek, Mich./Central High School) with 14 points and seven rebounds. Taylor’s seven rebounds tied for a team-high with senior forward JuJuan Armstrong (Detroit, Mich./Michigan-Dearborn).

Ta’Kein Dixson (Atlanta, Ga./Loganville High School) and Elijah Ingram (Detroit, Mich./Consortium High School) rounded out the double-digit scores for the Mustangs with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Warriors were led by Jared Bloom with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from three-point territory.

The Mustangs return home for a 3 p.m. WHAC contest on Saturday (Jan. 24) against Michigan-Dearborn. Catch all the action live on marygrovemustangs.com/live with Jeremy Otto on the call.

MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected] /* */ | @tjohnston56
MARYGROVE BROADCASTS: Mustang Sports Network | Twitter
SOCIAL MEDIA: Men’s Basketball on Twitter