Behind a tremendous performance from senior Tony Jackson, the Spartans of Warren Fitzgerald clawed and scratched their way pass Grosse Pointe South to place their record at 11-1 overall, and a two game lead in the MAC Blue Division at 8-0 over South with a record of 6-2.
Fitzgerald got off to a quick start in the contest, with senior DeAngelo Hutson hitting two threes in the opening minutes of the contest to give Fitzgerald a 17-9 lead after one. Fitzgerald continued to play hard-nosed defense, keeping South on the perimeter for the majority of the second quarter, and were eventually able to stretch their lead to 11 at 30-19 at half, setting up one exciting of a second half in high school basketball.
After being held to only 6 points in the first half, Grosse Pointe South senior big man and McDonalds All American nominee Danny Dixon began to assert his will in the opening minutes of the third. Dixon was unstoppable for South in the third, he was connecting with everything within 5 feet of the basket, using his superior size at 6’8″ to his advantage over the much shorter Spartans to score 14 points in the third to put South back in the game at 41-38 entering the fourth.
Grosse Pointe continued to feed Dixon in the opening minutes of the fourth, a 5-0 run by Danny himself gave South their first lead of the contest since the opening minutes of the game at 43-41 early in the fourth quarter. With Dixon dominating inside, it allowed senior guard Jabari Burton to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line to give South their largest lead at 51-43 with 4:59 remaining in the contest. However, the Spartans did not want to send their fans home unhappy on senior day, a 9-1 run over the next 1:52 minutes was capped off with a Tony Jackson and-one on a three pointer to knot the game up at 52 all. South would never retain the lead the rest of the game, senior Aron Black’s only basket of the game would be the game decider, a lay-in with 2:07 left in the contest would give Fitzgerald a lead they would never give up the rest of the game. A Hutson three pointer would give Fitzgerald a 58-54 lead with 1:10 in the contest, and finally Tony Jackson and DeAngelo were able to go 3-4 from the charity to put the game away sealing the win for Fitzgerald.
Tony Jackson was the definition of a stat sheet stuffer for the Spartans all game long, Jackson finished with 30 points, six rebounds, four steals, four blocks, and three assists in the win for Fitzgerald. Jackson played fearless the entire game, driving to the rim on every play, slamming a few home on the break, and has a bruised eye to show for his performance, Tony knew he had to step up his play when fellow senior and starter Jeremiah Becker went down with an injury in the first half.
“It’s a blessing,” Tony had to say after the win, “the team trusted me and I had to score when Jeremiah went down.”
Tony is listed at 6’3″, and Fitzgerald’s tallest player on the roster, while it maybe a disadvantage going against the taller Dixon of South, the Spartans were able to use their speed and quickness in order to get the win.
“We are a scrappy team,” Jackson went onto say, “and we had to fight for every point and we didn’t want to lose this game at our house.”
Jackson’s partner in crime for the game was 5’10” guard DeAngelo Hutson, who contributed with 20 points on the night, and while Jackson was banging down low it the post, it was Hutson who kept South off-balanced with five three-pointers in the contest.
Fitzgerald will have no more home games the rest of the year, and will have to go on the road in order to gain momentum for the playoffs.
“The key has been to let our defense create for our offense” Jackson noted. “We are the smallest team in the league, so we have to use our speed and quickness, we can go far if we continue to work hard, stay humble, and use our quickness.”
Grosse Pointe South was led by Danny Dixon with 31 points, and 14 rebounds.
Tags: Grosse Pointe South, Warren Fitzgerald
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