MBB: Storm Earn Second Banner with Second Half Surge against Hilo

DSC to return to the NCAA Tournament with 85-68 win

Box Score

HILO, Hawaii – After a close first half, Dixie State College returned to their style of basketball to defeat the host Vulcans of Hawaii-Hilo 85-68 and secure a share of the Pacific West Conference championship for the second consecutive year.

Senior guard Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) led four Dixie State (20-6, 13-3 PWC) players in double figures with 14 points. Starting forward Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) and senior reserve Brett Adams (Sandy, UT/Alta) each had 13 points. Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) had 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Barnes scored eight of the first 10 Red Storm points in the game's first three minutes. Plunkett pushed the lead to 17-13 with a jumper a the 13:33 mark.

UH Hilo (16-11, 8-8 PWC) caught fire from distance nailing three straight shots from beyond the stripe sparking a 10-0 run.

A three from UHH's Dirk Snel gave the home team a 26-19 lead halfway through the period before Dixie State scrapped back into the fray.

McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) began the rally with a jumper, Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) completed an old-fashioned three-point play and Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) tied the festivities with a put-back dunk off a Barnes miss.

The teams went into the half tied 39-39.

The first ten minutes of the second half saw no team push the lead past a five-point margin. At the 10:28 mark, Hawaii-Hilo had a 58-57 lead on a Zach Wilde shot.

Dixie State seemed to switch on a defensive switch, taking control of the game. Solid teamwork over a three-minute span forced the Vulcans to miss five shots and a free throw. Meanwhile, the DSC offense his six charity shots, got a three-pointer from Whitehead and a Barnes jumper.

The 11-0 run gave DSC a 68-58 lead and the momentum for the rest of the game.

Only once did UHH get within a single-digit margin during the final five minutes.

Aukai Wong scored all 14 points in the first half to lead the Hawaii-Hilo scoring. Lavell Shipman had 12 points while Justin Smith and Dirk Snel each added 10 points.

Dixie State dominated the battle of the boards 45 to 33 and shared the ball well accounting for 14 assists on their 26 made field goals.

Next up for Dixie State is a return trip to the NCAA Division-II Tournament as the automatic qualifier from the Pacific West Conference. Eight teams from the region will meet up beginning Friday to battle for a spot in the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.

DSC learns Sunday where the West regional will be held and whom their first round opponent will be. Last season, the Storm drew eventual the national champion, Cal Poly Pomona, in the first round losing in Bellingham, Wash.

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