McClatchy High School boys basketball team hung with Sacramento High School for the first 16 minutes Wednesday night at McClatchy, but a 17-1 start to the second half for the Dragons ultimately buried the Lions 82-56.

The game was close in the first half, but 3 consecutive turnovers led to six unanswered points for the Dragons to end the half, giving them a 37-29 lead at the break.

“It was a good first half, they were doing everything we planned to do-move the ball, rotate the ball, but in the second-half we couldn’t get anything,” said McClatchy head coach Jeff Ota.

The Dragons (15-5, 7-0 Metro League Play) won their third straight game to continue their undefeated league season. While the Lions (8-12, 1-6 Metro League Play) have struggled, they looked very much alive in the first half.

Where the Dragons, would race down court, the Lions would fall right back into their defense. Then in the second half, the depth of the Dragons hurt the Lions. The Dragons who have 16 players listed on the roster and the Lions have 12, but only nine suited up Wednesday evening for McClatchy.

The Dragons were able to go on a 17-1 run to start the second half taking up the first five minutes of the third quarter and outscored McClatchy 21-7 in the quarter pushing their lead to 58-36 with eight minutes remaining.

In the final frame both defenses looked worn down, which leading to a 22 point quarter for the Lions and a 24 point quarter for the Dragons.

McClatchy senior point guard Darrelle Dixon led the Lions with a game-high 19 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter.

“He’s fantastic, he’s our engine, we tell him to bring up the ball, score, and create assists,” Ota said.

The Dragons were led by standout Darius Graham who finished with 18 points. The Dragons also got solid performances from Erick Kinney with 11 points, and also got 10 points and 6 blocks from James Hadnot.