Storm look for Homestand Sweep against UH Hilo

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Dixie State Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (11-4, 6-1 PWC) vs. Hawaii Hilo (7-8, 1-6 PWC)
DATE: Jan. 24, 2012
SITE: Burns Arena (4,835)
TIP-OFF: 7:30 p.m. Mountain
RADIO (Red Storm Radio Network): SportsRadio 1210, 107/102 FM The Fox, online at DixieAthletics.com
TALENT: John Potter (play-by-play) & Devin Dixon (analysis)
SERIES: Dixie State leads the all-time series 6-3 over Hilo

VULCANS CLOSE OUT HOMESTAND: Dixie State College, victorious in its last four league games, host the University of Hawaii-Hilo in a Pacific West Conference game on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Start time inside the Burns Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. Mountain with live coverage on the Red Storm Radio Network (SportsRadio 1210, 107/102 Cool FM The Fox, DixieAthletics.com) beginning 15 minutes prior to tip with John Potter (@PotterSez) and Devin Dixon (@devdixon).

STORM WATCH: DSC enters the Hilo game, riding its longest winning streak of the season, with an 11-4 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 75.7 points per game in 11 victories while posting just 57.5 points per game in four losses. Dixie State is led in scoring by senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) with 12.4 points per game while dishing out 4.1 assists. Senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) leads the club with 6.8 rebounds a game while ranking second in scoring (11.9). Juniors McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.7 points per contest and Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) adds just fewer than eight a game. DSC is averaging 70.9 PPG while holding opponents to 64.3 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.6 field-goal percentage defense.

A PEEK AT THE VULCANS: The Vulcans (7-8, 1-6 PWC) of UH-Hilo have dropped four of their last five games, including Saturday at Cal Baptist 63-59 in league competition. Despite a 2-for-11 night from the floor, Zach Wilde posted 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kiel Myers also had 11 points while C.J. Brown scored 10. UHH was held to 32 percent from the floor and hit only 54 percent from the foul line. UHH were 1-0 in games against non-conference common opponents - they defeated Saint Martin's at home on November 11 in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge Series by the score of 66-60. Jeff Law is in his 15^th year at UH-Hilo. He has 201-158 overall record, claimed a league championship, produced numerous all-conference players and claimed two Coach of the Year awards. Law came into a program that had one winning record over the previous 12 seasons. His coaching career began in 1985 as an assistant varsity coach at his alma mater SUNY-Plattsburgh. Following the season, he moved on to Hobart College to become the head coach of the junior varsity team and assistant varsity coach until the end of the 1988 season. Before accepting the UH Hilo position, Law spent eight of the last ten years as an assistant to Riley Wallace at the University of Hawai`i. During that time the Rainbows were 142-96. During his break from Hawai`i, Law was an assistant coach at Santa Monica College (1993-94) and associate head coach at Los Angeles City College (1992-93).

LAST TIME OUT: Senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) posted 24 points, a career-high, in Dixie State's 84-68 victory Saturday over Hawaii Pacific in front of 3,273 fans at the Burns Arena. Dixie State (11-4, 6-1 PWC) set a single-game team mark with eight blocks, four coming from sophomore Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills). Hawaii Pacific connected on 10 3-pointers, but fell to 7-8 overall and 2-5 in the Pacific West Conference. Cole was nearly perfect from the field, connecting of eight of nine shots including a pair of triples. He had five rebounds and dished out seven assists in 29 minutes. McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) and Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) joined Cole in double figures. Massey had 14 points and five assists while Jones added 13 points and five rebounds. After holding a four-point lead at intermission, the Red Storm rattled off a 13-3 run in the first three minutes of the second half. After pushing the lead to 15 points, 59-44 with 9:47 on the clock, HPU saw LaBrent Chappell hit three shots from distance and Kawika Lyons add another triple, shrinking the cushion to eight. The Sea Warriors closed within seven, but an attempt to play “Hack-a-Storm” backfired when Dixie State hit 12 of its final 16 foul shots in closing out its fourth straight PWC win. Chappell led HPU with 16 points. Dixie State shot over 50 percent from the floor in both halves (57.4 percent overall) while holding Hawaii Pacific in the mid 30s (36.7 percent for the game).

JUDKINS CREEPING UP ON WIN NUMBER 400 – TWO AWAY: Head coach Jon Judkins posted win number 100 on the Dixie State bench last season, but he is rapidly approaching another milestone. Judkins has 398 career coaching victories, putting him just two wins from 400. The coach had 284 wins in 12 seasons at Snow College prior to taking over the head spot at Dixie State in 2006. He has 114 wins for the Red Storm.

MORE PWC RECOGNITION FOR MO, MAC: Dixie State senior guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has been named the Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week and shooting guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) snagged an Honor Roll mention in the Top 10. The honor was announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, Jan. 23, for games played Jan. 16-22. Cole led the Red Storm to a 2-0 week by averaging 20.0 points and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 81.3% (13 for 16) from the floor. He tied for third in scoring, ranked second in shooting, and was first in assist average in the PacWest for the week. He also made 2 of 3 three-point attempts (66.7%) and averaged 2.0 steals per contest. Massey helped Red Storm by averaging 11.0 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game. He ranked second in steals per game and tied for 11th in assists per game for the week in the PacWest.

NOTES FROM HPU WIN: DSC had a Saturday night recording-setting block party against the Sea Warriors. The team swatted eight shots, setting a single-game record. Sophomore forward Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) had half of the rejections. The Storm also posted its single highest field goal percentage of the season, hitting 31-of-54 shots (57.4 percent).

COLE SCORING STRING: Dixie State College senior Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has scored in double figures in six straight games (DSC leading scorer in the last two games) and seven of the last eight. He scored a career-high 24 points on Saturday against Hawaii Pacific, missing just once from the field.

GRIFF CLEANING UP THE GLASS: Over the last nine games, senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) has averaged 7.2 rebounds a game to lead the Red Storm. In DSC's previous seven games, Jones eclipsed the eight-rebound mark just once – with 11 against Montana State-Billings on November 11.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Burns Arena has been one of the best home court advantages in the Pacific West Conference over the past three seasons. DSC leads in winning percentage since the beginning of the 2009-2010 season with a 26-3 home record, a .896 winning percentage.

INSIDE THE RECORD BOOKS: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) finds himself 26 points away from 500 for his DSC career. He also needs to average 14.9 PPG over the Storm's final 11 conference games to become the player with the highest two-year point total – currently held by Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) with 638 points from 2009-2011. Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has 150 assists in his Dixie State career. To pass Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) with the best two-year assist total, Cole will need 66 dimes – or an average of six per contest for the remainder of the regular season.

AROUND THE PAC WEST: After Saturday's action, two teams found themselves atop the league thanks to an upset in Northern California. With DSC's win over HPU, a Cal Baptist win over Hawaii Hilo 63-59 and Chaminade's 69-66 loss at NDNU, the Red Storm and Lancers sit one-half game ahead of the Silverswords. For CBU, Ivan Patterson scored a game-high 18 points while Justice Von Wright added 15. UH-Hilo had three in double figures – Kiel Myers and Zach Wilde with 11, C.J. Brown with 10. Tyler Fricke blitzed Chaminade for 26 points while Matt Cousins lead the visitors with 25. BYU-Hawaii kept pace in the PWC with an 84-71 road win at Academy of Art. Jet Chang had 24 points and Bracken Funk had 15. Ameer Shamsud-din poured in 26 in the losing effort.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets to DSC basketball games can be purchased at Cox Auditorium Box Office prior to game day and at the Burns Arena East Box Office one hour prior to game time. Reserved seats are $7 for center court locations. General admission tickets are priced at $5 for adults. DSC students and kids under 12 are free. Purchase advanced tickets online at tickets.dixie.edu.

DSC HISTORY IN THE PAC WEST:
2011-12:                                    6-1
2010-11:                                    13-3
2009-10:                                    14-2
2008-09:                                    8-4
2007-08:                                    10-8
TOTAL:                                      51-18

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