Irving College had hopes of derailing Dibrell’s undefeated regular season Monday night, but those hopes were squashed by the 3-point shooting of Wildcat point guard Christian Wilkinson.
Behind four 3-pointers, Wilkinson scored a game-high 24 points and Dibrell cruised to a 57-39 victory in Irving College.
Wilkinson was especially sharp in the second quarter when he buried a trio of 3-pointers on the way to leading Dibrell to a 35-18 halftime lead. Despite some feisty play, Irving College was never able to cut the lead to single digits in the second half.
Trey Cantrell added 19 points for Dibrell, while Dustin Hale was the top scorer for Irving College with 15.
Irving College had the size advantage, but lacked the ball handling to deal with Dibrell’s full-court press. The Wildcats converted first-half turnovers into easy points, while also preventing the Tigers from finding their offensive groove.
With a 17-point haltime lead, Dibrell slowed the game in the third quarter by calling off its press and spreading the floor on offense. Irving College answered with backcourt pressure of its own, but Wilkinson showed his skills with the basketball and didn’t have any backcourt turnovers.
Hale was the bright spot for Irving College as he was able to take Dibrell defenders off the dribble and make it to the rim. He was also solid from the line, converting 8-of-11 foul shots.
Other Dibrell scorers were Dillon Barrett with six, Malachi Barrett with four, and Corbin Hildreth and Ethan Green with two each.
For Irving College, Tyler Morton and Robby Selig each scored eight, Logan Martin had six, and Chance Hobbs added two.
The win improves Dibrell to 6-0. Irving College falls to 4-3.