SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA – Nick Howard (Sandy. UT/Jordan) tipped in a missed jumper with 2.4 seconds left on Monday night giving Dixie State College a 74-72 win over host Dominican University in Pacific West Conference play.
The senior center scored all 14 of his points on 5-of-7 shooting after halftime and joined Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) (21 points, 7-12 FG), Andy Palmer (St. George. UT/Pine View) (16 points, 6-12 FG) and Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) (15 points, 3-6 3pt) as Red Storm hoopsters in double figures.
Dixie State (11-3, 5-0 Pac West) increased their winning streak to six games, their best run since a five-game jaunt in November 2004.
Palmer, Whitehead and Plunkett supplied all of the offense for DSC in the first half. At the 12:33 mark, Dixie State led 15-4 after nailing three straight lay-ups. The Penguins responded with a 14-4 run over six minutes to whittle the advantage to one. Plunkett and Palmer nailed a pair of threes helping the Storm to a 33-29 halftime edge.
DSC opened the second half on a 5-0 run, but soon felt the momentum shift as the Dominican shooters heated up. Mark Lewis hit a trey with 10:38 to play to tie the game at 50-50 and Xander McNally nailed a jumper in the paint to put Dominican up for the first time since early in the first half.
Whitehead's three-ball at 6:05 put the Storm back up by a point, but Lewis responded with another three.
With 52 seconds left, Penguin center Killian Larson was fouled on a lay-up and sank the free-throw for a Dominican 72-70 lead. Whitehead drew a foul and sank two freebies to tie the game for the 10th time setting the stage for the game's final ticks.
Alex Ward missed a jumper for the Penguins with Howard pulling the rebound for Dixie State. After a short timeout, the Storm had 16 seconds to run a play. Plunkett released a three from the coffin corner that missed short, but fell right into Howard's hand for the game-winning tip-in. A three-quarter heave from McNally missed well right and Dixie State held on for the win.
Dominican (4-11, 1-3 Pac West) was led by freshman Austin Bryan with 29 points and Lewis with 16. The Penguins outshot the Storm 50-percent to 47-percent, but Dixie State bested the boards 32-28. The difference in the game was the slim field goal edge – Dixie State had 27 while Dominican had 26. Both teams had seven makes beyond the arc and 13 made free-throws.
Dixie State returns home next Monday night to face Notre Dame de Namur University. Tip time with the Argonauts is set for 7:30pm in the Burns Arena.
Join John Potter and “The Coach” Mike Olson for tip to buzzer coverage on the Red Storm Basketball Radio Network – Classical 91.3 FM and Network1Sports.com
