BOX SCORE
SAINT GEORGE, UTAH – A week after dropping their first Pacific West Conference game at Grand Canyon, the Dixie State Red Storm returned the favor dropping the visiting Antelopes 78-68 on Saturday night inside the Burns Arena.
Dixie State (13-4, 7-1 PacWest) got a game-high 20 points from Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie). Andy Palmer (St. George. UT/Pine View) and Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) each had solid outings off the bench. Palmer was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and the foul line for 18 points while Barnes chipped in 15 going 4-of-9 from the field. Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) scored 10 points to round out the four Red Storm players in double figures.
GCU (10-14, 4-4) got out to an early 6-0 lead, but the Storm responded to shoot 56-percent in the first half to lead 38-32 at the break.
The Lopes again bolted to an early advantage in the second half and took a 42-40 lead with 15:47 left in the game. Dixie State gained control of the game from the paint on lay-ins from Palmer and Whitehead as part of a critical 6-0 run.
DSC iced away the game sinking 19 free throws in the second half. GCU could not recover shooting 2-of-18 from beyond the arc (11.1%).
Marco Ramos led the Lopes in scoring with 16 points, Nick Witherall netted 12 points and Brad Carroll scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
Dixie State out-rebounded Grand Canyon 40-26 including a 14 to 10 spread on the offensive boards.
The Red Storm continue their season on Sunday, February 14 at 10:30pm Mountain time in the first of four games on the Hawaiian Islands against the Vulcans of Hawaii-Hilo.
Catch all of the live action from the Aloha State with John Potter on the Red Storm Radio Network – Classical 91.3 FM and Network1Sports.com – beginning at 8:15pm MST before the women's tip against Hilo.
