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Cole vs HILO
Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Men's Basketball John Potter, Media Relations Assistant

Hawaiian Road Swing begins at Hilo (GAME NOTES)



Dixie State Game Notes
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (12-4, 7-1 PWC) at Hawaii Hilo (7-10, 1-8 PWC)
DATE: Jan. 31, 2012
SITE: UHH Gymnasium (2,500)
TIP-OFF: 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian (10:30 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)
SERIES: Dixie State leads the all-time series 7-3 over Hilo

HELLO AGAIN, HILO: Dixie State College puts its five-game winning streak on the line in the first of four road tests on the Hawaiian Islands. The Red Storm faces a rematch with the Vulcans of Hawaii Hilo on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 on the Big Island. Start time inside UHH Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian (10:30 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).
 
STORM WATCH: DSC enters the game with a 12-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 76.7 points per game in 12 victories while posting just 57.5 points per game in four losses. Dixie State is led in scoring by two seniors - point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) and forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) with 12.4 points per game. Cole dishes out 4.1 assists a game while Jones leads the club with 6.6 rebounds a game. Juniors McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.6 points per contest and Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) adds just fewer than eight a game. DSC is averaging 71.9 PPG while holding opponents to 64.8 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.5 field-goal percentage defense.

VULCANS - A QUICK LOOK: The Vulcans (7-10, 1-8 PWC) of UH-Hilo have dropped five consecutive league games including a 59-57 defeat to Cal Baptist at home on Saturday night. Terrell Mack returned from suspension with 12 points, the only Vulcan player in double figures. On the interior, Zach Wilde and Michael Melonas combined for 17 points and 13 rebounds. The last UH Hilo win came on January 9, holding off the Urban Knights of ART U 69-62. The 15-point loss to the Red Storm is the largest defeat for UHH in its current five-game skid (13 at GCU, 3 vs. Chaminade, 4 at CBU and 2 vs. the Lancers on Saturday). 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 15th year at UH-Hilo. He has 201-161 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: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) scored 16 points, all in the first half, while 12 different Dixie State players scored in Tuesday's 88-73 Pacific West Conference victory over Hawaii Hilo (7-9, 1-7 PWC) inside the Burns Arena. The Red Storm pushed its current winning streak to five games and improved to 12-4 overall, 7-1 in league. Head coach Jon Judkins also picked up his 399th career coaching victory, leaving him one away from a historic 400th victory. Jones missed just one shot in the first half en route to his team-leading score. Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) came off the bench with a solid outing of 11 points and seven rebounds while Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) nailed a pair of 3-pointers for 10 points. Senior guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) had seven points, but tied a career-best with eight assists. Dixie State, unlike the three previous games at home, spurted out with a 5-0 opening and extended the lead to 10 points, 16-6, on a De'Quan Thompson triple. UH Hilo attempted to cut into the lead with the long ball, but only hit four attempts of 16 over the first 20 minutes. DSC led 44-26 at the break with a 6-0 run over the final 2:16. The Storm never saw its advantage dwindle under double-figures and Judkins found minutes for his entire bench. Conner Atkin (St. George, UT/Pine View) and Jason Schallenberger (Hamilton, MT /Hamilton) recorded their first points of the year; each finished the game with four a piece. Kiel Myers scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Vulcans. Three other joined Myers in double figures, including PWC pre-season honoree Zach Wilde (14 points).
 
JUDKINS CREEPING UP ON WIN NUMBER 400 - ONE 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 399 career coaching victories, putting him just one win away 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 115 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.
 
COLE SCORING STRING, DISHING DIMES:  Dixie State College senior Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games, after scoring seven points in 23 minutes against Hilo. In the last three games, Cole has picked up his helpers – accounting for 22 assists. That is the highest three-game total for assists since Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) had 25 dimes early in 2010. Cole previous best over 60 minutes was 20 (vs. GCU, Dominican and ART U in 2011).
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Teams that make the NCAA Tournament will sing a similar tune – win at home and become tough winners on the road. Dixie State has posted the best road and neutral court since 2009 in the Pacific West Conference with a 28-14 record (.667). One other team, BYU-Hawaii (27-17), has a record above .500 over the same period.
 
PRETTY GOOD AT HOME SWEET HOME, AS WELL: 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 27-3 home record, a .900 winning percentage.
 
INSIDE THE RECORD BOOKS: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) finds himself 10 points away from 500 for his DSC career. He also needs to average 14.8 PPG over the Storm's final 10 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 158 assists in his Dixie State career. To pass Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) with the best two-year assist total, Cole will need 54 dimes – or an average of 5.4 per contest for the remainder of the regular season.
 
AROUND THE PAC WEST: Last Tuesday, GCU defeated Hawaii Pacific 70-57 in Phoenix to move to 4-3 in the league. Three Saturday games saw three close PWC results. Dominican had three in double figures, including a game-high 13 points from Ricky Wofford, to beat Notre Dame de Namur 67-61 in San Rafael. Cal Baptist regained a share of the league lead with a 59-57 win at Hawaii Hilo. Justus Von Wright poured in 18 points for the Lancers; Terrell Mack returning from suspension had 12 points for the Vulcans. BYU-Hawaii also moved to 7-1 in conference with a 79-75 home win over Grand Canyon. Playing without a suspended Jet Chang, Gary Satterwhite had a career-best 17 points off the bench.
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