Men’s Basketball Season Ends With 104-87 Road Loss at DU

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 2014-15 edition of Marygrove men’s basketball ended Saturday (Feb. 21) with a road setback to No. 4 Davenport University by a 104-87 final inside the DU Student Center. The 17-point setback closed out the collegiate careers for seniors JuJuan Armstrong (Detroit, Mich./UM-Dearborn) and Darryll Dixon (Flint, Mich./Hamady High School), leaving the Mustangs with a 3-27 overall record and a 1-21 mark in WHAC play this season.

Dixon will end his collegiate career as one of the better players to ever don the Marygrove Green and Gold basketball uniform. The 6-1 combo guard finished his heralded career with a game-high 29-point showing Saturday against of the one nation’s top teams. Playing three-and-a-half seasons at Marygrove, Dixon will exit as the second-leading scorer in program history with 1,679 points. Dixon’s 20.7 points per game average this year is the highest in a single-season since former Mustang great Dennis Foster posted a 28.5 average 10 years ago.

On Saturday, the Mustangs and Panthers engaged in a seesaw first-half battle paced by Dixon and junior wing Diante Taylor (Battle Creek, Mich./Central High School). The pair combined for 21 points in an opening half that was witness to four ties and four lead changes. The Mustangs grabbed a four-point (34-30) lead with 4:02 remaining in the first half when Dixon connected on a deep three, forcing a Panther timeout.

The four-point lead was erased within a minute as the fourth-ranked Panthers closed the half on a 15-8 run to take a narrow 45-42 lead into the locker room at the break.

The three-point deficit at the half for the Mustangs was a product of the Panthers relentless pursuit on the offensive glass. The Panthers used a 15-3 advantage in second-chance points to take the one-possession lead at the half, led by 12 points and three offensive boards by Dominez Burnett.

A 31-5 run to open the second half gave the Panthers a 76-47 lead with 12:10 remaining in the game, but the Mustangs fought back behind a strong team effort. Dixon led the charge, catching fire to post 16 points in the latter half while teammate Ta’Kein Dixson (Atlanta, Ga./Loganville High School) chipped in with 12 points of his own. The Atlanta native buried three second-half triples to help bring the Mustangs to with 12 (96-84) before the Panthers pulled away to win by 17.

Dixon’s game-high 29 was accompanied by another game-high – 10 assists. The 10-assist game was a season-high for Dixon as the senior ended his career with one of his many show-stopping performances. Armstrong closed out his collegiate career with six points and four rebounds, added a pair of assists and a steal in 30 minutes of action. The gritty senior ended his career with another stat-stuffing line for second-year head coach Craig Covington and the Mustangs after coming over from Michigan-Dearborn three years ago.

Taylor put a cap on a stellar junior campaign with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in the conference loss Saturday. The junior will return as the Mustangs leading scorer next season.

THANK YOU, SENIORS!

MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected] /* */ | @tjohnston56
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