Dixon plays with chip, leads Abington past North Penn in SOL semifinals
BENSALEM >> Eric Dixon was angry.
The Abington sophomore forward wasn’t happy with his first-half play Saturday afternoon against North Penn in the Suburban One League semifinals. It was a shared sentiment among the Galloping Ghosts in the locker room, as they trailed by five and were being outworked by the Knights.
So, they came out in the third quarter and Dixon went to work.
“In the first half, I felt like it wasn’t so much them that was making me miss,” Dixon said. “I was getting to my spot but the shots just weren’t falling. The intensity came up, I got a little bit of anger in me, the dog came out and I just played a lot harder.”
Dixon poured in 31 points, with 20 of them coming after halftime as the Ghosts ran past the Knights for a 66-45 victory at Bensalem High School. The 6-foot-7 sophomore was unstoppable after the break, scoring through double and triple teams and sparking a 17-0 Ghost run in the third quarter that turned the game around.
North Penn, which boasts one of the deepest and most athletic rosters in the SOL, gave the Ghosts trouble in the first half with its zone defense. Of course, the Ghosts hurt themselves as well, settling for quick shots or forced outside shots that played right into the Knights’ hands.
“They were in a zone and I thought our kids, when they see a zone, like most high school kids, they just want to come right down and take that first shot,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “We were telling them to settle down. We wanted to play inside-out, we wanted to use our bigs and our size to hurt them.”
North Penn (18-5) just out-worked the Ghosts (19-4) in the first half. David Giuliani, Reece Udinski, Ricky Johns and Lance Ford kept making hustle plays, grabbing offensive boards and giving the Knights second-chance opportunities they were able to convert. Udinski in particular had a strong first half, scoring 11 points.
“Their zone really got to us early in the game,” Abington guard Robbie Heath said. “At halftime, coach really harped on us to pick up our play, to play with intensity and play aggression. E (Dixon) and Darius (Brown) coming off the bench really gave us a spark. E made big plays and we fueled off him.”
Dixon gave a preview of his second half when he buried a 3-pointer with .2 left on the clock in the second quarter to cut the North Penn lead to 30-25. The Knights pushed the lead up to six on a Giuliani 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the third, but things were about to come apart. Abington continued to attack inside and started drawing fouls on North Penn.
Johns and Giuliani each picked up their fourth fouls in the third, sending the two to the bench and leaving Abington an avenue to mount its comeback. NP coach John Conrad had to keep the two seniors on the bench, because he didn’t want either to foul out with so much time left, but things snowballed, with the Knights unable to rebound at the same rate and the offense stalling out.
“They’re big, it’s hard to say, I don’t know if we wore down or not, but they did a great job of rebounding in the second half,” Conrad said. “We gave up a lot of second-chance points that they didn’t get in the first half. You can’t underestimate Ricky and David being on the bench, they’re two of our better rebounders. They’re big and strong and relentless also.
“In hindsight, yeah, you put them back in but I also didn’t anticipate a 17-0 run. It kind of goes together.”
Dixon started the run with a hoop and scored the next four to tie the game before a lay-up by Heath put the Ghosts up 38-36 with 2:21 left in the third, their first lead since the first quarter. Lucas Monroe scored, then Dixon scored the final seven points of the quarter, capping the run with a corner 3-pointer with 21.2 left in the frame.
The forward’s most impressive bucket of the run was a driving finish with about 55 seconds left, extending his right arm all the way out and flipping the ball in despite taking some contact.
“Dixon, he’s unreal, I don’t really know what you can do, you just try to contain him,” Conrad said. “He’s the real deal, he’s good.”
The run extended into the fourth, with Dixon scoring the first basket of the final frame, giving Abington a 49-36 lead.
Like Dixon said, he felt like he was getting the looks he wanted and the sophomore was able to adjust to North Penn’s defense. The help defense coming to him left gaps in the zone and Dixon was finally able to take advantage of them.
“It depends on who I’m playing, but a team like that, yeah, I’m going to take it up stronger,” Dixon said. “It’s been happening all season. Teams double-team in different ways and the way they were double-teaming, I saw a little bit of a gap on every single one. I figured I could get to the gap and get to the rim.”
Dixon said the Knights were bringing a guy down from the top so when he turned, the middle of the lane was always open.
Johns and Giuliani eventually returned, but the damage was done. Abington also did an excellent job defending Udinski in the second half, holding the forward scoreless after the break.
After a three-point play by Johns pulled the Knights within 55-43 only to have the Ghosts rip off the next eight points.
Abington will face either Plymouth Whitemarsh or Pennsbury in Monday’s final, set for an 8pm tip at Souderton. Both teams are in line to receive a first-round bye in the District I 6A tournament with the brackets to be unveiled on Sunday.
“It’s all in the moment,” Dixon said. “You keep going hard and whatever happens, happens.”
Abington 66, North Penn 45
North Penn 15 15 6 9 — 45
Abington 15 10 22 19 — 66
North Penn (45): Lance Ford 2 0-0 4, Ricky Johns 4 2-3 10, Chris Coleman 1 0-0 2, Reece Udinski 4 2-2 11, David Giuliani 4 0-2 10, AJ Mitchell 2 1-3 6, Michael Ward 1 0-2 2. Totals: 18 5-11 45.
Abington (66): Rob Young 2 0-0 4, Robbie Heath 6 1-2 14, Lucas Monroe 2 3-6 7, Eric Dixon 12 5-9 31, Darius Brown 3 0-0 7, Jonah Canada 1 1-2 3. Totals: 26 10-22 66.
3-pointers: NP- Giuliani 2, Mitchell, Udinski; A- Dixon 2, Heath.
Top Photo: Abington’s Eric Dixon lays up a shot in front of North Penn’s Derek Heiserman during their Suburban One League semifinal on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
