ZIONSVILLE — On Friday night, Avon's Austin Burgett showed why is a likely Indiana All-Star. The Notre Dame recruit had a dominant 25-point, five rebound performance for the Avon Orioles as they used a 19-6 second quarter to earn a 68-55 Hoosiers Crossroads Conference win at Zionsville.
"Austin is a type of player that makes our sophomores and juniors better," said Avon coach Jason Young. "We're really happy where we are at right now. When Austin and our other senior, Lance Magee struggle, then we struggle. They are our only two returning lettermen and in they have been really active the last two games."
Zionsville appeared to be strong early on as guards Andrew Dakich and Will Dixon propelled them to a 16-13 lead after one quarter. Dixon had eight first quarter points on a pair of 3-pointers while Dakich added six more.
It was Burgett that began to take over for the Orioles in the second quarter. The senior forward scored nine of Avon's 18 points and was a defensive menace as the eagles struggled to get to the basket with his intimidating 6'9" presence near the basket. Burgett's three-pointer with five seconds left put Avon in front 32-22, but that is when things really turned for the Eagles.
After a quick inbounds pass Jackson Tharp connected on a desperation three-pointer that one official counted. After a conference, the officials waived off Tharp's basket, saying it came after the final buzzer.
Zionsville coach Shaun Busick took offense to that, and was quickly assessed a technical foul as the teams left the floor for halftime.
"I'm going to take complete blame for the loss because I shouldn't have gotten teched," said Busick. "I felt there were three crucial calls at the end of the second quarter that went against us, then they count that shot before the end of the half before waiving it off. It makes no sense to me, but that's the way it goes. I made a big mistake and it was my fault."
Burgett started the second half by hitting one of the two technical free throws, before Lance Magee pushed the lead to 13 on a driving basket. Burgett and Magee eventually pushed the lead to 50-32 as Avon took advantage of Zionsville's struggles from the field.
"Most night's Magee is the most athletic player on the floor," said Young. "He gets into the paint offensively and defensively he causes a lot of havoc. We started him out on Dakich and then we put him on Dixon a little bit in the second half and I think Dixon got tired a little bit."
Magee finished the night 17 points for Avon, 15 of which came in the second half. Shooting guard Austin Shelton was a difference maker with 18 points on the strength of four three-pointers. Shelton also added four assists to help drive the offense.
Zionsville was led by Dixon, who had 16 points, while Dakich added 11. Tharp reached double figures for the Eagles with 10 points, but Zionsville's poor second half shooting of 34.5 percent was a major factor in the decision.
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