DSC Basketball Opens Up Defense of PWC Crown with Grand Canyon

Red Storm battle Lopes on Saturday at 7:30pm

UP NEXT - The Dixie State College Men's Basketball Team (7-3) opens up Pacific West Conference play at home against the Antelopes of Grand Canyon at 7:30pm. The Red Storm look to extend a three-game winning streak while kicking-off a campaign to repeat as conference champions. Dixie State plays on its home court for only the second time in the regular season after handily defeating Pacifica College 110-41 on December 4. Grand Canyon University is 5-5 on the season having won their last game 93-66 against Southwestern College on December 30.

RED STORM WATCH - Dixie State has won three straight games after suffering a setback at Mesa State on Nov. 27. The Red Storm, the defending PacWest Conference Co-Champions, is currently led by Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie), averaging team-highs in points (15.9) and rebounds (5.3) per game. Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) is the only other Red Storm player in double-figures this season, accounting for 11.9 points per game and 4.8 boards. Dixie State is scoring 71.0 points per game and holding opponents to 61.4 points per contest. DSC is pulling down an average of 35.1 rebounds in a game and has been stingy on defense, forcing 15.2 turnovers each game with a +1.7 turnover margin.

THE OPPONENT - In its last game, Grand Canyon picked up a 93-66 decision against Southwestern College at the Antelope Gymnasium in Phoenix. The Lopes used a 15-2 run to open the game and pull away from the Eagles leading by as many as 29 points in non-conference action. Grand Canyon turned to its sophomore guard, Brad Carroll who made eight of nine shots for 22 points. Steve Morin had 12 points while Brad Wesolowski chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds. The Lopes had the hot shooting hand posting a team field goal percentage of 58.5-percent.
Earlier this season, the Antelopes went on a four-game losing streak dropping two games to Seattle Pacific and single games to Washburn and Central Washington. GCU has bounced back from that sour string with a three-game winning spurt. The first two victories came against teams from the GNAC - Simon Fraser and MSU-Billings.
Last season, the teams split the conference matchup with each club winning on their home court. For the Red Storm, the loss at GCU was one of just two losses in the conference.
Grand Canyon, under the direction of head coach Russ Pennell, are powered by Kyle Speed, who averages 11.3 points per game. Four other Lopes average six points or more a game - Brad Carroll (9.1), Nick Witherall (9.1), Rony Tchatchoua (8.0) and Gaby Ngoundjo (8.0).

RED STORM VS GRAND CANYON IN THE PACIFIC WEST
2006-07
Dixie State 90, Grand Canyon 81 (2/1/07 in Phoenix)

2007-08
Dixie State 77, Grand Canyon 66 (1/1108 in St. George)
Dixie State 69, Grand Canyon 61 (1/12/08 in St. George)
Dixie State 86, Grand Canyon 81 (2/9/08 in Phoenix)

2008-09
Dixie State 68, Grand Canyon 59 (1/22/09 in Phoenix)
Grand Canyon 78, Dixie State 64 (1/23/09 in Phoenix)
Dixie State 79, Grand Canyon 63 (3/5/09 in St. George)
Dixie State 69, Grand Canyon 60 (3/6/09 in St. George)

2009-10
Grand Canyon 82, Dixie State 80 (1/30 in Phoenix)
Dixie State 78, Grand Canyon 68 (2/6 in St. George)
Overall Record: 8-2

HOME SWEET HOME - When Dixie State takes on Grand Canyon on Saturday, it will be only the second regular-season game held on the court at the Burns Arena. The Red Storm defeated Pacifica College 110-41 on December 4 after playing the first seven games of the season on the road. DSC has since played to more games on the road, winning both, before the Pac West opener at home.

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.

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.

GAME NOTES

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