Men's Basketball 1/17/2011 11:42:14 AM John Potter, Assistant Sports Information

MBB Notes: DSC Storms Bay Area

Three-game swings begins with Academy of Art

UP NEXT - The Dixie State College Men's Basketball Team (7-4, 0-1) continues Pacific West Conference play in the Bay Area kicking off a three-game road trip against the Urban Knights of Academy of Art University. DSC is coming off their first home loss in nearly two calendar years - a 71-68 defeat to Grand Canyon in the Pac West opener for both teams. Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) led all scorers with 23 points. Academy of Art (3-11, 0-4) played tough, but left the Aloha State winless to open conference. Their closest opportunity came against Chaminade on January 8, a 70-66 decision inside McCabe Gymnasium.

RED STORM WATCH - The Red Storm, the defending PacWest Conference Co-Champions, is currently led by Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie), averaging team-highs in points (16.5) and rebounds (5.4) per game. Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) is the only other Red Storm player in double-figures this season, accounting for 11.3 points per game and 4.7 boards. Dixie State is scoring 70.4 points per game and holding opponents to 62.3 points per contest. DSC is pulling down an average of 34.5 rebounds in a game and has been stingy on defense, forcing 15.6 turnovers each game with a +1.7 turnover margin.

THE OPPONENT - In its last games, the Academy of Art University Urban Knights wipedout on the islands. AAU dropped all four games on the PWC opening road trip. The most recent game was on January 12 in Honolulu. Hawaii Pacific bested the Knights 78-60. AAU rides a six-game losing streak heading into the contest with Dixie State. A victory over Bethany University on December 18 preceded the losing skid.
Last season, the Red Storm swept the Urban Knights in PWC play. DSC's first visit to San Francisco ended with a 69-51 win over AAU at the Bakar Fitness Center. Six weeks later, the Storm beat the Knights 88-77 in a game played without Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie). Four players including McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) had stellar performances in the home victory.
Academy of Art, under the direction of head coach Mark Sembrowich, are powered by freshman Will Overton, who averages 19.0 points per game and junior forward Keith Davis with just under 16 PPG.

RED STORM VS ACADEMY OF ART IN THE PACIFIC WEST
2008-09
Dixie State 78, Academy of Art 62 (12/22 in St. George)

2009-10
Dixie State 69, Academy of Art 51 (1/16 in San Francisco)
Dixie State 88, Academy of Art 77 (2/27 in St. George)
Overall Record: 3-0

ROAD WARRIORS - Dixie State College racked up the frequent flyer miles in the non-conference schedule playing nine of their first 10 games away from the Burns Arena. DSC is 3-1 in true road games and 3-2 in neutral court games played in tournament action. The Red Storm won both games in Montana during their last roadie - beating Carroll College on December 9 and Montana-State Billings on December 11. Mesa State handed Dixie its lone road loss 65-57 in the championship game of a Thanksgiving tournament on Nov. 27.

STORM ON THE RADIO/WEB - Dixie State games can be heard on KXDS (91.3 FM) with John Potter calling the play-by-play. They can also be heard on the web by going to the Utah State Athletics home page at www.DixieAthletics.com and clicking on the Live Audio link in the calendar section.

LIVE STATS - Fans can follow Red Storm home games through the DSC web site at www.DixieAthletics.com via Sidearm Sports, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game. Road game live stats will also be available through DixieAthletics.com on the front page calendar.

ON THE INTERNET - All of Dixie State's home games are available to watch live through America One via the internet at www.DixieAthletics.com. DSC fans can also listen to every game both home and away thanks to Network1Sports.com, via DSC's web site. Select games on the road will also be available. Check the front page calendar on DixieAthletics.com for availability.

GAME NOTES

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