ST. GEORGE, Utah – Junior forward Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) had a game-high 17 points and junior-college transfer Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) added 16 as Dixie State College defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 69-49 in the 2009-2010 season opener on Saturday night inside the Burns Arena.
It was the first win for Dixie State in a season opener since 2005 and marked the first time since the move to Division-II that the Red Storm have held an opponent to less than 50 points in a game.
The Toros drop to 0-2 on the season after dropping their opener at home to Grand Canyon on Tuesday. Dominguez Hills was led by a duo each with a double-double – Tim McGrath (14 points/10 rebounds and Stephen Faulkner (11/10).
Whitehead had three blocks, two steals and two assists in addition to his leading point total. Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) scored seven points and dished seven assists off the bench. Andy Palmer (St. George. UT/Pine View) had seven rebounds while Adam Ross (Torrance. CA/North Torrance ) and Wade Bronson (Garland, UT/Bear River) each added six.
Dominguez Hills streaked out to an early 7-0 in first 2:57 before Whitehead hit the first of his six shots, a jumper, to get the Red Storm on the board. Dixie State knotted the score at 11-11 and took their first lead with 10:38 left with a Kacen Smith (Saint George, UT/Dixie) three-pointer assisted by Barnes. In the final 9:06 of the first half, DSC outscored the Toros 26-5 and led 42-20 at the half.
CSUDH cut the lead to 51-37 with 10:48 left in the game on a Jamel Ward jumper, but could not threaten the Storm any further. A 10-0 Dixie State run late in the second featuring eight straight points from Plunkett sealed the fate for Dominguez.
The Red Storm were 26-of-54 (48%) from the floor, eight-of-18 from beyond the arc (44%) and bested the rebound 43-42.
Dixie State competes in the Northwest Nazarene University Classic next Friday and Saturday in Nampa, ID. The Storm faces defending GNAC champion Central Washington on Friday at 3pm and the host school, Northwest Nazarene, on Saturday night at 7:30pm.
Both games will be broadcast back to St. George on KXDS 91.3FM and online at Network1Sports.com. Join the voice of the Red Storm, John Potter, beginning Friday at 2:45pm for the Dixie State Basketball Warm-Up Show.
