Red Storm descend upon Phoenix for weekend tourney

Undefeated CSU San Bernardino and GNAC-foe Saint Martin's next on schedule

Dixie State Game Notes | CSUSB Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (4-2, 1-0 PWC) vs CSU San Bernardino (4-0, 3-0 CCAA)
DATE: Dec. 16, 2011
SITE: GCU Arena (5,000)
TIP-OFF: 3:30 p.m. MT
RADIO (Red Storm Radio Network): SportsRadio 1210, 107/102 FM The Fox
TALENT: John Potter (play-by-play)
SERIES: First Meeting

Dixie State College (4-2, 1-0 PWC) vs Saint Matrin's (3-5, 1-1 GNAC)
DATE: Dec. 17, 2011
SITE: GCU Arena (5,000)
TIP-OFF: 3:30 p.m. MT
RADIO (Red Storm Radio Network): SportsRadio 1210, 107/102 FM The Fox
TALENT: John Potter (play-by-play)
SERIES: First Meeting

DESERT DUAL WEEKEND: Dixie State College plays a weekend tournament at the brand-new GCU Arena in Phoenix on Friday and Saturday, December 16-17, 2011. On Friday, the Red Storm face CCAA-powerhouse Cal State San Bernardino (4-0, 3-0 CCAA) at 3:30 p.m. in the opening game of the four-team classic. Then, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., DSC tangles with Saint Martin's (3-5, 1-1 GNAC). Both games will be broadcast on the Red Storm Radio Network – SportsRadio 1210AM, 107/102 FM The Fox – and online via DixieAthletics.com with John Potter calling the play-by-play.

STORM WATCH: DSC enters the weekend tournament at GCU with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm has won four out the last six games, despite dropping a non-conference game at UC San Diego on Sunday. Dixie State is led in scoring and rebounding by senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (10.8/5.3). Senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) dishes out a team-best 3.1 assists per game while scoring 9.0 points. DSC is averaging 65.3 PPG while holding opponents to a Pacific West Conference-best 64.0 points on the defensive end.

LAST TIME OUT: Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) led DSC with 17 points off the bench and De'Quan Thompson added 13 points, but Dixie State was knocked off by the host Tritons of UC San Diego 81-67 in non-conference play in La Jolla, Calif., on Sunday afternoon. UCSD shot 51.9 percent from the floor for the game and used a 17-2 opening run to solidify control. Christian Hatch had 19 points for the Tritons. It was the second straight loss to UCSD in the all-time series and first loss in the RIMAC Arena.

TOP 10 FOR GRIFF AND QUAN: Dixie State senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (Cheney, WA/Cheney) and redshirt freshman De'Quan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) have been named to the Pacific West Conference's Top 10 Honor Roll for games played Dec. 5-11, 2011. The announcement came Monday via the league's media office. Jones averaged 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during a 1-1 week for the Storm. He shot 50.0% (10 for 20) from the field against Notre Dame de Namur and UC San Diego. Thompson averaged 13.0 points per game while recording a perfect shooting percentage; he was 10 for 10 from the field. His duel 13 points efforts set personal season and career bests. Conference Player of the Week honors went to BYU-Hawaii's Junior Ale.

INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTH CARE INJURY REPORT: Questionable for the game is guard Landon Littlefield (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy), who is recovering from a knee injury. Littlefield is not expected to make the trip to Phoenix.

IT'S ALL JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATING: Through seven games, Dixie State is 4-3 on the year. Last season through seven games, the Red Storm were also 4-3. DSC hopes it produces like last year - the team won six of its next seven games and followed with an eight-game winning streak that spanned the month of February.

WHERE DID THE PRODUCTIVITY AT THE “3” GO?: Dixie State is 2-1 since moving junior Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) into the starting small forward position and having sophomore Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) come off the bench. Clegg has averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while Groskreutz, off the bench, has averages of six points and 5.5 rebounds in the first two games. But, the duo combined for no points on 0-of-8 shooting in the Storm's loss at UC San Diego.

A BREAK FROM THE PAC: The two games in Phoenix will bring an end to the non-conference schedule for the 2011-2012 season. A 16-day break follows, including the NCAA Division-II moratorium, before DSC returns to Pacific West Conference action at Academy of Art on Jan. 3, 2012. Dixie State has posted an 18-11 mark in non-PWC games since the beginning of the 2009 season.

JUDKINS APPROACHING ANOTHER MILESTONE: Head coach Jon Judkins posted win number 100 on the Dixie State bench last season, but he approaches another milestone. Judkins has 391 career coaching victories, putting him just nine wins from 400. The coach had 284 wins in 12 seasons at Snow College prior to taking over the head spot at Dixie State.

AROUND THE PAC WEST: Four teams sit atop the early PWC standings at 1-0: Dixie State, Grand Canyon, BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade. DSC and GCU both have defeated Notre Dame de Namur. The Silverswords rallied in the second half of their PWC opener at Hawaii Pacific while the Seasiders upended Hawaii Hilo. Highlighting a great weekend of basketball is the lone in-league game: Academy of Art travelling south to face Cal Baptist. The game will mark the very first Pac West game for the Lancers. Also on the schedule this weekend – Hawaii Hilo faces UH-Manoa in Kona (Fri.), NDNU hosts Western Oregon (Sat.), and the Hawaii schools host a pair of NAIA teams in Bethany (Kansas) and Vitterbo.

SCOUTING THE COYOTES: The Coyotes (4-0) won their last game 63-61 on Dec. 3 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in CCAA play. Johnny Bell had 21 points in the win. CSUSB's only blemish on the schedule was an exhibition loss to UCLA on Nov. 6 in Ontario, Calif. Jeff Oliver is in his 10th season as the head coach at CSUSB. He has taken the Coyotes to the NCAA Tournament in seven of his nine previous seasons, including one West Region title in 2007 (made National Semifinal). Oliver has posted 20-win seasons in the last three years. His overall record sits at 195-71 (.733) and 151-42 (.782) in the CCAA.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS: The Saints (3-5) won a non-conference matchup with Willamette on Dec. 6 by the score of 93-83. SMU has split two early GNAC games - defeating Northwest Nazarene before losing to Central Washington. Keith Cooper is in his ninth year at Saint Martin's after stints as an assistant at Seattle Pacific and Central Washington. His SMU record is 99-130 (.432). He has also coached at Juanita High School, Shoreline Community College, Pacific Lutheran and Decatur High School.

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