No contest

Johnsburg’s Tyler Chambers (left) goes after a loose ball against Marian Central’s Joel Parker during the second half of a non-conference game Tuesday in Woodstock. The Skyhawks won, 79-54. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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WOODSTOCK – Johnsburg guard Mike Dixon unleashed all his pent-up energy from missing four games with a strained oblique on Marian Central.

Taking a cue from their returned leader, the Skyhawks put forth their most proficient performance of the season and turned the matchup between the area’s two best boys basketball teams into a rout.

Johnsburg shot 57.4 percent (27 of 47) on field goals and blew away the Hurricanes, 79-54, in a non-conference game Tuesday night.

“That was our best game by far,” said Dixon, who led all players with 22 points. “We all came out and bonded together as a team. We want to play our best basketball here at the end of the season. It was a great effort by everyone on this team.”

Guard Mike Dombrowski scored 21 points, and 6-foot-6 center C.J. Fiedorowicz added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Skyhawks (23-2).

“I would say it was the best game we played this season,” Johnsburg coach Luke Ravlin said. “Give credit to (Marian coach) Curtis (Price) and his guys, they’re a very good team. I’m proud of the effort we had that let us do that.”

Johnsburg and Marian (18-9) both are in Class 3A and are the only area teams to get No. 1 seeds in their regionals. The Skyhawks struck a blow for Fox Valley Conference teams, against which Marian has a 6-2 record for the season, by finding an early offensive flow.

“I felt like the most important part was our shot selection,” Ravlin said. “We played our inside-outside game through C.J. We played through him when it was available and off him when teams adjusted.”

The Hurricanes trailed, 35-29, at halftime, but Johnsburg hit 8 of 12 shots and nailed three three-pointers for a 60-41 lead after three quarters.

“At halftime, we were talking about how it was a good half, but we wanted one more good punch to put them away,” said Dombrowski, who scored nine points in the third quarter. “We kept going and going and got good shots. We were all in a groove tonight.”

Dixon, who hit 7 of 15 field goals and 7 of 7 free throws, practiced Monday for the first time in two weeks. He injured the oblique and his right hip in a collision and wanted to make sure he was ready for the postseason.

“Dixon played out of his mind,” Price said.

Jacob Tonkin led Marian with 13 points.