Dixon sends Indians to victory at the buzzer over Washington
Hillsboro's Dylan Dixon celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning basket at the buzzer on Friday in the Indians' 49-47 FAC win over the Washington Blue Lions at HHS. (HCP Photo/Stephen Forsha)
HILLSBORO — With the game tied at 47, the Hillsboro Indians called a timeout with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter. HHS head coach Josh Howland drew up the play, and the rest was history for the home team Indians.
Following the timeout, the Indians had Tate Davis have possession of the basketball, where the Washington defense focused on Davis and the Indians' other top scorer, Jack Howland. With Howland defended, Davis drove to the basket as time continued to tick away.
At the very last possible moment, Davis jumped in the air and passed the ball to wide-open teammate Dylan Dixon, who made the pressure-packed basket in the paint as time expired, sending the Indians to a 49-47 Frontier Athletic Conference victory.
“Dylan Dixon had the game winner, and I couldn’t be more proud,” HHS head coach Josh Howland said. “We knew with Tate and Jack they both are going to get overplayed in that situation a lot, and we want to take advantage of that and get some back door cuts. That’s what happened tonight.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys and how they battled their tails off tonight and all season. Tre (Captain) and Dylan have gotten into the starting lineup because they are resilient, and they give great effort every day.”
Hillsboro not only used the timely play on offense, but their defense was solid too, keeping the Blue Lions under their season average in points per game (48.5) en route to their second FAC victory of the season.
The win improves Hillsboro’s overall record to 7-7 and their conference record to 2-3. Washington is now 3-4 in the conference and 8-9 overall this season.
Before the big moment at the final buzzer, the Indians and Blue Lions had an 8-7 battle in the first quarter, where it was Washington holding on to the lead once the quarter came to a close.
Washington was first to score in the FAC showdown at Hillsboro High School with Jacob Lindsay making two free throws at the start of the game, followed by a 3-pointer by Noah Haithcock for the early five-point lead with 3:40 on the clock.
HHS came back with points by Dixon with 3:15 remaining in the first, but the Blue Lions answered with a 3-pointer from Aden Osborne for the 8-2 advantage.
HHS responded with two free throws sailing through the hoop by Mason Dumpert, followed by three made free throws by Jack Howland with no time left on the first-quarter clock, bringing the Indians to within a point of the Blue Lions’ lead.
Howland led HHS with 18 points, finishing the game with four two-pointers, one 3-pointer, and he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Washington outscored the Indians 10-9 in the second frame, with the Blue Lions starting the second with a basket from Bryson Heath, but a couple minutes later Hillsboro started a 7-0 run with a basket from Howland, points in the paint from Brady Juillerat and a 3-pointer by Howland, lifting the Indians in font of Washington 14-10 with 3:09 left in the first.
Following a Washington timeout, Javin Baker of the Blue Lions had a 3-pointer, then followed later with a three-point play for a 16-14 Blue Lion lead.
HHS tied the score following a basket by Dixon (who scored six points in the game) with .58 seconds left in the first half, but WHS took the lead with a shot made at the buzzer by Roman Chijevsky for the two-point advantage at halftime, 18-16.
“Our guys fought with (Washington), and even when they made runs, we fought right back,” Howland said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our defense. Tate did a great job on (Haithcock), and he’s a handful.”
Washington also outscored Hillsboro in the third frame by three points at 20-17 for a 38-33 lead after three quarters. The Indians began the third quarter with Tre Captain scoring the first four points, with the first of his two baskets coming off a pass for the assist by Brayden Hunter.
The Blue Lions tied the score at 20, and after Washington regained the lead, Howland tied the score at 22, and later, after the Indians took back the top spot, Washington tied the score at 24 with 4:12 left in the quarter.
HHS took a 25-24 lead following a free throw by Captain, and the Blue Lions had a 3-pointer by Jeston Everhart (his first of three in the quarter), for the Blue Lions lead at 27-25.
Washington extended their lead to 29-25, but the Indians had other plans, tying the score at 29 with a jumper from Davis and a layup from Captain with 2:36 left in the third. Davis finished with 11 points, and Captain totaled nine points for the Indians.
Washington went back in front following an Everhart 3-pointer, and again it was Captain making two free throws, bringing the Indians to within a point of Washington’s lead at 32-31. Haithcock added points to the away side of the scoreboard with a three-point play, and Everhart pushed the Blue Lion lead to seven points with a 3-pointer.
The third frame ended with a steal and layup by Howland to make the HHS deficit five points at 38-33.
HHS cut the Blue Lion lead to two points at the start of the fourth with points scored by Davis and Juillerat. Washington made their lead four points with a basket, and Howland answered with four consecutive points, tying the score at 40 points apiece with 4:16 left in regulation.
Washington made a basket with 3:48 left in the game for a two-point lead, but Davis sank a 3-pointer and had a steal and fastbreak layup with 1:49 for a three-point HHS lead.
Each team made two free throws, leaving the Indians ahead by three points with 57.3 left in regulation. Washington called a timeout with 41.2 on the clock and came out of the huddle tying the game with a 3-pointer from Haithcock, leaving 26 seconds on the clock.
HHS called a timeout with 22 seconds remaining, and then eventually came the aforementioned game-winning basket by Dixon at the buzzer for the win.
Haithcock and Everhart led Washington in scoring with nine points each, followed by Heath with eight points.
The rest of Washington’s final scoring included: Parker (six), Chijevsky (six), Osborne (five) and Lindsey (four). Final team totals for the Blue Lions consisted of 10 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers, and they were 6-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Other final scoring totals for the Indians included Juillerat with three points and Dumpert totaling two points. Hillsboro’s team totals were 15 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 13-of-17 from the free-throw line.
The Indians are scheduled to play again Tuesday, Jan. 28 at home against Highland County counterpart, the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs, in a nonconference contest. Washington is scheduled to play next on Tuesday, Jan. 28 on the road against the Clinton-Massie Falcons in a nonconference game.
BOX SCORE
WHS 08 10 20 09 — 47
HHS 07 09 17 16 — 49
HILLSBORO (49) — M.Dumpert 0 (0) 2-2 2, T.Davis 4 (1) 0-0 11, D.Dixon 3 (0) 0-0 6, T.Captain 3 (0) 3-6 9, J.Howland 4 (1) 7-7 18, B.Juillerat 1 (0) 1-2 3. TOTALS: 15 (2) 13-17 49.
WASHINGTON (47) — J.Everhart 0 (3) 0-0 9, B.Heath 4 (0) 0-0 8, J.Parker 1 (1) 1-1 6, R.Chijevsky 3 (0) 0-0 6, A.Osborne 0 (1) 2-2 5, N.Haithcock 1 (2) 1-5 9, J.Lindsey 1 (0) 2-2 4. TOTALS: 10 (7) 6-10 47.
• • •
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025
Indians fall to New Hope Christian
Thursday night in non-conference action, the Hillsboro Indians lost at home to the New Hope Christian Academy Statesmen, 72-61.
New Hope Christian led 22-12 at the end of the first quarter, and after HHS outscored the visitors 15-8 in the second quarter, NHCA led at halftime 30-27.
HHS outscored the Statesmen 21-21 in the third frame, but the fourth quarter saw NHCA score 22 points and HHS score 13 points.
The Indians were led in scoring by Tre Captain and Jack Howland with 16 points apiece.
Howland totaled six two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and he was 1-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Captain finished with eight two-point baskets.
Tate Davis finished with 10 points, collecting points off three two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and a 1-of-2 performance from the free-throw line.
HHS also had seven points from Brady Juillerat, with one bucket and he was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Dylan Dixon finished with six points with three two-point baskets, Brayden Hunter scored four points with two baskets, and Mason Dumpert totaled two points for the Indians.
HHS team totals included 23 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 9-of-16 from the free-throw line.
New Hope Christian Academy was led in scoring by Xander Rink and Nathaniel Ames, each with 22 points. Hunter Cavanaugh scored 18 points.
BOX SCORE
NHCA 22 08 20 22 — 72
HHS 12 15 21 13 — 61
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