ST. GEORGE - Trent Bowman took the wind right out of Dixie State's sails - pretty much every time he wanted to.

Fort Lewis College's shooting guard made 8-of-9 from beyond the arc - several of them in direct answer to a Dixie State push - as the Skyhawks beat DSC 90-78 at Burns Arena on Tuesday night.

"I was just trying to find a rhythm out there and help my team out as much as I could." said Bowman. who had 26 points and proved he was human by missing both of his free-throw attempts. "They were just falling tonight."

Bowman might be minoring in oversimplification.

Three of his treys in the second half cut right to the heart of DSC (5-6). The home team went on a 12-2 run. capped by a Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) (13 points. five rebounds. four blocks) 3-pointer to pull within 65-63 with 9:49 remaining. Then Bowman got loose on the perimeter.

Swish.

Whitehead followed by getting to the line and converting both shots. Bowman found himself all alone on the next possession.

Bingo.

After a rim-rattling dunk by FLC's DeAndre Lansdowne (13 points. five assists). Ryan Sanchez (Ogden. UT/Fremont) (team-high 20 points. three steals) hit a leaner to cut the deficit 76-71 with 5:55 to go. About a minute later. somebody lost track of Bowman.

Dagger.

Bowman's eighth trey started a 7-0 spurt and put away DSC.

"They were running a lot of zone against us and I love playing against zones." Bowman said. "They weren't closing out. so you just got to hit open shots. That's what wins games."

Said DSC coach Jon Judkins: "We just didn't do a good job knowing where he was. We just let him catch it and shoot it. We lost this game by not using our heads."

DSC went to a zone largely because of the Skyhawks' Kirk Archibeque. The 6-foot-9 senior surpassed Bowman's tally with 33 points. a consistent force throughout the game scoring on post moves. putbacks and 15-foot jumpers.

Archibeque's early success dictated some of DSC's strategy. When DSC didn't rotate out fast enough on the zone. Bowman burned them.

"We had to collapse on (Archibeque) and then they'd kick it right out and hit (Bowman) for a three." said DSC guard Bowie Jeffs (Castle Dale. UT/Emery). who had nine points and eight assists off the bench. "We needed to adjust to shooters and we didn't."

The Skyhawks (11-3) wanted to run away with the game early. taking a pair of eight-point leads in the first half. but DSC hung tough. A 14-0 run in the waning minutes of the opening stanza - sparked by Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon)'s lay-up and capped by Ben Hartman (Santa Clara. UT/Snow Canyon)'s 3-pointer - gave DSC a short-lived 41-35 advantage with 1:34 left.

However. Bowman and Tayler Faust hit treys in the final 18 seconds. sandwiching Jeffs' free throws to make it a 43-41 DSC advantage at the break. FLC went on a 14-4 run at the outset of the second half to take a 55-47 lead.

The Skyhawks never trailed again.

"It's tough to fight back when you get down like that to begin with." Jeffs said. "We could never get over that hump."

Hartman had 12 points and eight rebounds for DSC as he connected on 5-of-7 from the field. DSC didn't get much from their post players. though. Andy Palmer (St. George. UT/Pine View). Nick Howard (Sandy. UT/Jordan). Kevin Lindquist (Gilbert. AZ/Lone Peak) and Christian Wouden (Mantua. UT/Box Elder) combined for 12 points in 56 minutes.

FLC guard Ryan Jameson only shot 1-of-6 from the field. but put together a staggering assist-to-turnover ratio of nine to zero. Jordan Brooks added eight assists as the Skyhawks totaled 25 helpers.