BOX SCORE
ST. GEORGE, UTAH – Dixie State College remained undefeated in Pacific West Conference play defeating the visiting Argonauts of Notre Dame de Namur University 64-41 in front of 2,713 fans inside the Burns Arena on Monday night.
The Red Storm (12-3, 6-0 Pac West) outscored the Argos 32-15 in the second half to pull away with the victory.
Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) netted his first five attempts from the floor for 14 points in the game's opening seven minutes. He ended the night 7-of-10 from the floor for a game-high 19 points .Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) scored nine of his 15 points in the second half for another solid showing off the bench.
NDNU (2-15, 0-6 Pac West) was paced by Cheynne Lishman with 15 points. Season leading scorer Bennie Murray was held to six points on two-of-eight shooting.
Dixie State, geared by Whitehead's early offensive explosion, built a 16-4 lead at the 13:19 mark of the first half. NDNU cut the lead to one with 1:43 left on a Murray lay-in. The Storm responded with a 5-0 run highlighted by a Nick Howard (Sandy. UT/Jordan) steal and a lay-in by Barnes right before the buzzer to hold a 32-26 edge at the break.
The Storm opened the second half on a 6-2 run before the tide turned completely in Dixie State's favor. With 10:30 remaining, Whitehead blocked a three-ball form Murray, took the rebound down the court and jammed home an arena-erupting slam dunk for a 14-point lead. DSC reeled off six more points and extended the lead to 20.
Freshman Aaron Pugh (Hurricane, UT/Hurricane) nailed a late jumper, his first points of the year, to net the Storm's biggest advantage at 26. A last-second Lishman three made the final 64-41.
Dixie State bested NDNU in almost every offensive category. The Storm shined defensively enducing 17 turnovers while committing only four. DSC had 18 assists on their 26 field goals.
The Red Storm hit the road for the first game in a back-to-back series with Grand Canyon University on Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled at a special time, 7:00pm Mountain, upon completion of the women's game kicking off the double header. DSC returns home to face Grand Canyon on Saturday, February 6 at 7:30pm in the Burns Arena.
Join John Potter, the voice of Red Storm Athletics, for all of the live coverage from Antelope Gym this Saturday night. The game will be heard live on Classical 91.3FM and online at Network1Sports.com.
