DEKALB – Matt Ross didn't have anybody his own size to pick on Monday night.

Dixon's 6-foot-6 inch senior center stood tall against a pack of undersized Harlem Huskies, and nearly posted a triple-double in a pool play game at the Chuck Dayton Tournament.

Ross finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the Dukes' 65-52 win. Seven of his blocks came in the first half, which ended with Dixon in command 32-18.

"Normally after I get a couple blocks, teams tend to kind of back off from the drive and pull up for little jumpers," Ross said. "They just kept coming. You've got to give them credit."

Dixon (8-3) never trailed, with Nick Emmole (18 points), Ross (17) and Andy Haack (10) reaching double figures.

Emmole hit 6 of 10 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Haack was an efficient 5-for-6, all on medium-range jumpers.

"We took care of the basketball, we were patient and got good shots, and we got some balanced scoring tonight, so that was good," Dixon coach Justin Remington said.

The Dukes built a 24-9 lead with 5 minutes left in the first half after a 3-pointer from David Goad. The lead was in the 20-point range most of the second half before Harlem's reserves made a late run to close the deficit in a free throw-filled fourth quarter.

Matt Stevens paced the Huskies (5-5) with 14 points, while Bo Andrews and Brenton Benedict added 10 each. Six-foot-3 forward Brandon Rogers was the only Harlem starter taller than 6 feet.

"We didn't execute our offense very well today, never to take anything away from anybody that beats us,"  Moore said. "Dixon did some things which allowed us not to execute our offense well, but we also made some poor decisions out there as far as ball distribution and shot selection."

Star of the game: Matt Ross, Dixon, 17 points, 15 rebounds, 9 blocks

Key performers: Nick Emmole, Dixon, 18 points, 5 rebounds; Andy Haack, Dixon, 10 points, 5 rebounds; Matt Stevens, Harlem, 14 points

Up next: Dixon vs. Rochelle, 8:30 p.m. today at DeKalb