[PREVIEW] Red Storm travel to MSU-Billings for West road test

DSC won last trip to Billings in overtime

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Dixie State at Montana State-Billings
Game Details	Friday, Nov. 16 \| Billings, Mont. \| 7:00 p.m. MST Alterowitz Gymnasium
Game Coverage	TV: None \| Radio: ESPN SportsRadio \| 1210AM and 107.3/102.3 FM Dixie State All Access: Video and Audio Twitter: @DixieAthletics #DSCmbb
Dixie State Links	Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
MSUB Links	Notes \| Roster \| Schedule

ON THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME: Dixie State College takes to the road for a non-conference, West Region game with Montana State University-Billings on Friday, November 16 at 7 p.m. Live radio coverage can be heard on ESPN SportsRadio with John Potter (@PotterSez) beginning 15 minutes before tip.

STORM WATCH: DSC is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. The Storm won opening games with CSU Dominguez Hills and Central Washington en route to making the NCAA Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) made nine of 12 shots for 22 points to spark the Dixie State College basketball team to a 77-65 win over Colorado Mesa in the championship game of the DSC Classic on Saturday inside the Burns Arena. The career night for Massey continued with eight assists, six coming in the second half when Storm pulled away from the Mavericks after the game was knotted at the half. Dixie State improved to 2-0 on the year while the Mavs fell to 1-1. “He (Massey) did a good job tonight of letting the game come to him and he took really good shots,” DSC head coach Jon Judkins said. Colorado Mesa took an early 9-2 lead behind a hot start from Mike Melillo (18 points, nine rebounds). Over the next 4:49, Dixie State used an 11-4 run to even the game at 13-13. Neither team built a substantial lead and a stickback dunk by Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) kept the game tied at the break, 36-36.
Physical and close battles have been the trademark of previous battles between DSC and Colorado Mesa. Saturday's see-saw battle saw eight ties and 11 lead changes until Massey and DSC took over at the 11:43 mark in the second half. Jumpers from DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) and Robbins began a 14-0 defining run that saw Massey get a lay-in and nail a pail of three-pointer. Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) knocked in a shot to close the run with a DSC 65-53 lead. Payne had 10 points and joined Massey by posting a career-high with nine dimes. The Mavs never got the Dixie State lead under 10. Payne, Thompson and Brandon Simister (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) nailed free throws down the stretch.

• MSUB YELLOWJACKETS
> The Yellowjackets of MSUB feature eight transfer players on their roster, including a pair of Division-I bounce-backs. MSUB was selected to finish fifth in the GNAC preseason poll, after a 18-12 finish last year and an appearnce in the NCAA Tournament. MSUB defeated Black Hills State 89-50 in its season opener last Saturday.
> Jamie Stevens is in his second year at MSUB. He led the Jackets to a victory in the GNAC Conference Tournament, earning a bid to the NCAA West Regional. Prior to his coaching career, Stevens left his mark on the MSUB record books as the most prolific passer in program history, playing as a Yellowjacket from 1994-1999.

JUDKINS ON THE JACKETS: They are a very good team. We have to go out and defend because they are shooting a lot of threes. They like to run, so we are preparing to defend and getting those long rebounds that will be key.

FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES LAST TIME AGAINST MSUB: Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) began the night with a lay-in, and never looked back. The senior point guard had 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead Dixie State College to victory 81-70 over Montana State-Billings on Tuesday inside the Burns Arena. Dixie State improved to 2-1 on season by taking a page out of the MSUB (2-1) playbook. A quick strike offense led to easy buckets, a 7-0 opening run, and ultimately a 40-25 halftime lead. Cole led all scorers at the break with 10 points. MSUB guard Antoine Proctor netted the first six Jacket points in the second half before DSC responded with a 10-0 run primarily made with lay-ups. Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (Cheney, WA/Cheney) had six points and six rebounds during the major push, ending the night with a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds). He also swatted four shots, tying for the third highest single-game total in the DSC record book. Dixie State led by 20 points with 6:53 remaining in the game before Jaxon Myaer singlehandedly brought the Yellowjackets back. The former Judge Memorial star and Utah State transfer hit five three-pointers pulling MSUB to within six points, 71-65, at the 2:08 mark. Myaer led all scorers with 22 points. Cole and Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) each chipped in two points for a quick 4-0 spurt to get the advantage back to double digits in the final minute. Four DSC players were in double figures including 12 points each from Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) and Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) (St George, UT/Dixie). Jensen, limited to just 16 minutes, had nine points. The Red Storm shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) for the game and 27-of-35 from the charity stripe (77.1 percent).

IN ALTEROWITZ: Dixie State is 1-1 in games played on MSUB's home court. DSC dropped a 73-70 decision to the Yellowjackets in 2009, but bounces back in overtime to win 73-69 in 2010. Overall, Dixie State has won its last three games played in the state of Montana (two wins vs. MSUB, one vs. Carroll College).

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