Magical Comeback Caps Day One at Disney

Dixie State erases 10-point halftime deficit; 75-58 over UAA

Griffon Jones leads DSC in scoring; top UAA 75-58

BOX SCORE: DSC 75, UAA 58

ANAHEIM, CALIF. (November 12) – Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) tallied a game-high 15 points and Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) scored all 11 of his points in the second half to guide the Dixie State College Red Storm to a comeback victory over Alaska-Anchorage 75-58 in the first game of the Disney West Coast Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Arena.

Dixie State, down 33-17 with two minutes left in the first, outscored the Seawolves 52-25 in the second half to erase a ten-point halftime deficit.

Joining Jones (5-6 FG, 5-6 FT) and Whitehead (2-5 3FG) in double figures were Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) with 14 points and Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) with 12.

After a 7-2 start for DSC, Anchorage responded with seven straight points. The Seawolves would add a 9-0 run late in the half to take a 33-23 advantage over the cold-shooting (7-20, 35%) and sloppy Storm (11 turnovers) into the locker rooms.

The changing of momentum may have started with the final two shots of the first half – a pair of Plunkett triples. Whitehead drained his first shot from distance in the second half and DSC began chipping away from the foul line. The Red Storm took the lead for good on a Plunkett free throw with 12:59 remaining and crested their 10-0 scoring drive with a dunk from Everton Araujo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Torquato Caleiro).

Defensively, Dixie State forced nine UAA turnovers and kept the Wolves to 26.7-percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.

The Storm finished the game 19-for-42 (45%) from the field including 5-of-12 (41%) from beyond the arc. DSC dominated the boards 27-10 in the second half and outrebounded Alaska-Anchorage 41-28 overall. Whitehead paced the Red Storm with eight rips while Jones and Jensen each had seven.

Dixie State returns for Day Two action in the Tip-Off Classic on Saturday at 5:00pm Pacific (6:00pm Mountain) against UC San Diego. The battle of 1-0 teams, UCSD defeated Lewis 70-59, will kick-off the men's action in the evening.

Listen to the live coverage on KXDS 91.3FM with John Potter from the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. Online audio will be available through 91.3FM's website and Network1Sports.com.

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