DeKALB – The DeKalb boys basketball team has faced multiple NCAA Division I-level talents this year in the DuPage Valley Conference, but on Saturday, Dixon’s Jacob Gaither did what none of them have been able to do.

Gaither put up 32 points for the Dukes against the Barbs, powering a Dixon comeback in the fourth quarter of a 53-50 win.

“We had one guy get 30 points. That’s the first time all year,” DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said. “We’ve played against multiple Division I players and lots of different guys, and he was able to find the crease and the seams. We didn’t give him much help, we left guys out on an island. We just weren’t very good.”

Gaither shot 15-for-22 from the floor, hit a pair of 3s, grabbed five rebounds, and had a pair of steals in the win.

His layup with 1:42 left gave the Dukes (13-9) the lead for good, 49-48.

“I was getting to the rim and my teammates were finding me under the open basket,” Gaither said. “I was shooting it OK today, so that helped.”

Dixon controlled things early, leading by as much as six. But Tyler Westberg ended the first half and started the second with 3-pointers to tie the game at 30 and kick off a 10-0 run for the Barbs (18-9).

Dixon tied it up at the end of the third, but DeKalb started the fourth with three made free throws, and kept the lead until Sky Goral connected on a layup with 3:17 left. Marlon King answered with a layup for the Barbs with 2:39 left, but Gaither scored 40 seconds later to give the Dukes control.

“He had a lot in his bag tonight, and he played really well,” Dixon coach Chris Harmann said. “He’s a really nice player, and a great kid on top of it. He was able to shoot from the outside, able to shoot from the inside. He’s really good in the open court.”

Not only was it Senior Night in front of a rowdy and large crowd, but the Barbs also sported “Hustle Russell” shirts, in support of former player Zach Russell. The 2020 DeKalb graduate is undergoing an operation Thursday to remove a brain tumor.

“It was lack of effort and energy,” Reynolds said. “It looked like some of our guys didn’t want to be here. That’s sad because it was Senior Night, we had a good crowd, we tried to honor Zach Russell – and we kind of played the opposite of that.”

Terrion McDonald made the game 51-50 on a steal in layup with 20.3 seconds left, but Dixon answered at the free-throw line. Austin Hicks connected on both ends of a 1-and-1, his only points of the game.

Goral finished with nine points and three steals for the Dukes. Demarrea Davis had 14 points for the Barbs, and Sean Reynolds added 11. Darrell Island and Lane McVicar led all players with six rebounds.

“We played with no energy and no effort, and all the credit goes to them,” Reynolds said. “They took it to us. Typical Saturday night game where I thought our pride and effort and execution would take over. Instead, they had the best player on the floor and he controlled the game.”