City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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As Abington entered the locker room at halftime trailing by nine points to Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Eric Dixon felt mostly disappointment.

The Ghosts’ star junior had only scored five points in the first two quarters of the District 1 6A championship game, and was being bullied around by his counterpart, P-W 7-foot-1 junior center Naheem McLeod. Dixon wasn’t able to secure the ball on a few post-ups, had trouble converting at the rim, and was settling for low-percentage shots from the outside.

On top of that, the P-W student section was rowdy, as was the rest of the chaotic Colonial faithful.

“We were down by nine going into halftime,” Dixon, a 6-7 junior, said. “I’m going to the locker room seeing my friends and family going, ‘uh oh.’ They didn’t have anything to get excited for. That bothered me on a personal level. Seeing them deflated made me mad. I wanted to come out and make them proud.”

He did that, and then some.

Dixon led a third-quarter surge that helped Abington jump out to an eight-point lead, and the Ghosts never trailed the rest of the way, holding off the previously-undefeated Colonials for a 75-73 win and their second consecutive district title.

This is Abington’s first time ever winning back-to-back district championships, and it's the Suburban One League school’s third in the last four years.

“We didn’t come in here screaming at halftime,” head coach Charles Grasty explained. “Just said, ‘hey look man, we’ve been here before.’ We wanted to step it up. We went full court man, got some turnovers, started chipping away, once you see the ball going through the basket, that gives guys a lot of confidence.”

Dixon came out of the locker room on fire, and scored 16 points in the third quarter alone. Unlike the first half, Dixon started to be more aggressive when attacking the basket, going strong at McLeod and finishing at the basket.

The highly-anticipated battle between Dixon and McLeod was almost non-existent in the second half, as Dixon got out in transition and forced McLeod to be in an uncomfortable position outside of the paint. McLeod scored 20 points in the game, but Dixon won the battle in the second half.

Dixon’s energy and effectiveness also rubbed off on the rest of the Ghosts' squad, as they dominated P-W in the third quarter, outscoring them 29-8. In the final 1:38 of the third, Abington scored four and-1’s: three from Dixon, and one from senior guard Robbie Heath.

“Whenever I get and-1’s, it feels good,” Heath said. “When Eric gets them, it’s just another thing because he’s so big. It changes the momentum of the game.”

Heath gained a lot of confidence going down the stretch, as the 6-2 senior contributed to the third quarter run with some floaters and some fast-break lay-ins. A four-year starter at Abington and a native of Australia, Heath’s made history with three championships to his name.

He was only a freshman and 3-point specialist when Matt Penecale and Amir Hinton led the way to the title that began the streak, but is a much more integral part of the team now.

“Come over here from Australia, winning three of my four district championships, it’s so rare,” he said. “Doing it with my guys...they really supported me.”

Heath and Dixon both led the Ghosts with 25 points each, and junior Lucas Monroe added 11. JohnPaul Nolan, a 6-3 sharpshooting senior, added 10 points, and hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Monroe and Nolan also did damage on the glass, combining for 14 rebounds.

As Abington was making its big run in the third, the fans really started to get into the game. Dixon made a few flashy moves coming down the court -- one of which was a behind the back move that spun the defender around -- and converted at the rim.

“I just was playing instinctually,” Dixon said. “I made some excuses, like when I fell to the ground. But in the second, I had to attack the glass and make [McLeod’s] life difficult.

“I think I made too many excuses for myself in the first half. I know who I am and what is best for me, and in the first half I didn’t do it. In the second, I did what my team needed me to do.”

Abington led by eight going into the fourth quarter; but PW didn’t go away. Colonials senior guard Ish Horn was sidelined for the majority of the third with foul trouble, but made his presence felt once he checked in for the fourth.

The lightning-quick 6-foot guard scored 10 of high game-high 29 points in about three minutes to pull PW back within seven points. Senior Ahmin Williams also cashed in a few late buckets to trim the lead.

But ultimately, the late push wasn’t enough.

“I’ll be honest, it was impressive,” Grasty said. “Not only as a basketball coach, but as a basketball fan. I love to see good basketball, I love to see that energy.”

Next up in states, Abington will face the sixth seed from District 3, which is Harrisburg. Last year after Abington won districts, they lost in the first round of states to Central Dauphin East.

P-W will play Dallastown, the fifth seed from District 3. Both games will be played on Saturday.

For Abington, this one felt extra sweet. The Ghosts now feel the emotions of winning twice in a row.

“It doesn’t get old,” Grasty said. “Last year’s is gone, this is a totally new feeling. Another one of our goals were met. We set out goals, we can check this one off.”