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Dixie Dominates
J. C. Tilton
For several years Brookville has had the Greyhounds number on the basketball court. This January was a continuation of the same as a flat Dixie team was soundly beaten at Brookville. This years seniors must have wondered if they would ever get a varsity win against the Blue Devils. The drought has ended as the Greyhounds dominated in the friendly confines of the dog pound.
The reserve game supplied a suitable warmup. Dixie trailed only to come back in the 4th quarter. As the clock wound down the intensity heated up. Dixie appeared to connect on a game tying basket with about 14 seconds left, but a charge call on the play nullified the basket and Brookville escaped with a 56-54 victory. I, as did many fans, figured that the varsity game would be a similar fight to the finish.
Dixie had different ideas. The home student section was loud and rowdy. Dixie fed off of the intensity and quickly went to work. Kevin McBain, who had been held scoreless this past weekend, found the home rim early and often. He reeled off the first 7 points for the Greyhounds. Johnny Adams got into a groove early and scored 6 to help close the quarter. At the other end of the court the stingy Dixie zone defense clamped down on the inside game that had been so damaging in their previous meeting. The Greyhounds had an 11-2 run just past the 5 minute mark to break open a lead, and Brookville was back on their heels, down 16-5 at the end of the first quarter.
As coach Miller would later remark, the game gradually became the Johnny Adams show. The senior was a whirlwind, scoring at will one possession, driving and dishing off to a team mate on another possession, all the while cleaning the glass. By the end of game he had accumulated a triple double. Unofficially he had 18 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. Of course he punctuated his efforts with a second half slam dunk. Not bad for a nights work.
Adams fueled a 9-0 run in the second quarter and Brookville could not get back into the game. They were down 31-14 at the half. They pulled out all the stops in the second half, pressing, assigning a defender to Adams to shut him down, changing half court defenses, all to no avail. Brookville was able to get some scoring in the post from Daniels and Tidd, but Dixie answered with Kummer and Spahr who also stepped it up in the second half when Adams was slowed down. At the closing buzzer the jinx had ended, Dixie won 56-37.
“We knew what they were going to throw at us and it didn't bother us,” stated Dixie's Coach Miller when asked about Brookville's defense, “It was either going to be a triangle and two, or a box and one. We were prepared.” Of course he was asked about Johnny Adams, “If he is not the best player in the league, I don't know who is. Johnny has been such a true leader this year, both on and off the court. I've been real pleased with him. He just took over the first half.” Still it was a team effort, “Johnny created opportunities and the team fed off of him. They have come together a team and want to win. Now we want second place in the league and to finish strong in the tournament.”
A reflective Coach Gentis was asked for his comments, “I've never coached a better group of kids, they played hard even when things don't go their way. They never give up - they don't have that in them. We shot around 20%, when you do that you are not going to win a basketball game, Dixie must have shot 50%, that was the game. We knew what defenses they would use against us. Adams had a great night. All their seniors I congratulated after the game. When you battle against them for 4 years and see them grow up - I'm happy for them, I just wish it hadn't been against us.”
Scoring; Dixie - Moore 4, McBain 11, Adams 18, Risner 4, Kummer 7, Spahr 10. Brookville - Lammers 4, Baker 1, Lemons 3, Lathrop 2, McDaniel 11, Tidd 9, Warner 2.
Comments: email: Chris Tilton
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