[PREVIEW] Storm Front moves over San Joaquin Valley

PacWest play continues with road contest at FPU

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Dixie State (5-2, 2-0 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific (5-4, 0-1 PWC) (
Game Details	Saturday, Dec. 8 \| Fresno, CA \| 5:30 p.m. MST FPU Special Events Center
Game Coverage	TV: None \| Radio: ESPN SportsRadio \| 1210AM and 107.3/102.3 FM Dixie State All Access: Audio FPU Video/Live Stats: FPU Game Central Twitter: @DixieAthletics #DSCmbb
Dixie State Links	Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
UHH Links	Notes \| Roster \| Schedule

RED STORM NOTES

ON THE ROAD TO FRESNO: Dixie State College travels to the San Joaquin Valley for the first-ever Pacific West Conference meeting with Fresno Pacific. Tip-off against the Sunbirds is set for 5:30 p.m. Mountain (4:30 p.m. Pacific), with live coverage on ESPN SportsRadio and Dixie State All-Access with John Potter beginning 10 minutes prior to the jump.

STORM WATCH: DSC is 5-2 on the season and 2-0 in the PacWest after defeating UH Hilo and Chaminade in the league opening homestand. The Storm combined to shoot 57-of-107 (53.2%) from the floor and 15-of-29 (51.7%) from beyond the arc in the victories.

ALL-TIME vs. FPU: DSC and the Sunbirds will embark on new territory. Saturday's game is the first meeting for both schools in the Division II era. FPU participated in the DSC Classic to open the year - dropping two games to Colorado Mesa (in overtime) and UC San Diego.

LAST TIME OUT: Call it a quick maturation process. Freshman guard Brandon Simister (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) scored 15 points in the second half leading Dixie State College to an 87-78 win over the Chaminade Silverswords in Pacific West Conference play on Monday night at the Burns Arena.

McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) led Dixie State (5-2, 2-0 PWC) with 17 points. Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) added 16 points in 27 minutes and Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Silverswords (3-4, 0-1 PWC) were led by the guard duo of Lee Baily and Bennie Murray, each with 15 points.

“Our guys battled,” head coach Jon Judkins said. “We need to learn how to close out halves and games. Overall, I'm happy with the effort.”

Chaminade jumped out early to an 8-2 lead behind a pair if three pointers from Oregon State transfer Rhys Murphy.

After the Swords took a 15-14 lead, Dixie State made a major run with 10 straight points. Triples from Groskreutz and Massey combined with free throw shots and a Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) driving layup gave DSC a 24-15 lead.

After another late eight point DSC spurt pushed the lead to 14 with 2:01 left, Chaminade outscored the home club 8-1 to minimize the deficit to seven, 37-30, at the break.

Dixie State would extend the lead to as many as 18 points at the 8:46 mark on a pair of Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) (St George, UT/Dixie) free throws. Chaminade lived by the long shot, but also died by it. Three shots from distance put CUH within 10 points before an empathetic Groskreutz left-handed dunk brought the crowd to its feet.

Simister took over as the Storm iced away the game. His first three pointer with 3:37 left in regulation allowed DSC to take a 10-point lead. A few minutes later, Simister drained a contested wing ball as the shot clock expired.

Simister, Massey and Groskreutz nailed down the final eight points from the foul line.

Dixie State shot over 60 percent from the floor for the third game this year (61.7%, 29-47), while hitting 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. Payne finished an assists shy of his career-best with eight.

• FRESNO PACIFIC SUNBIRDS

> The Sunbirds enter Saturday's league game with a 5-4 overall record after easily downing the Flames of Bethesda, 87-54, on Wednesday. FPU dropped its PacWest opener on Tuesday to California Baptist, 93-75.

> Last year's National JUCO Player of the Year, John Taylor is leading FPU in scoring at 23.6 points per game. Two others aslo average double figures - Malcolm Griffin (16.6) and Antonio Credit (10.3).

> Chris Wright is in his third season as the head basketball coach at Fresno Pacific. He has posted a 40-31 record, including just the seventh 20-win season in the program's history, despite losing nine seniors from the previous year.

JUDKINS ON THE SUNBIRDS: Very athletic and alot of guys have the green light to shoot. They really jump at you and get into you. If you can't handle the pressure, the will eat you alive. They love to go on runs, we have to control that. If we keep control of the ball, run our stuff and keep them in front of us - that will be key. They are like the last two teams we have played. They love to dribble penetrate, but if they miss a shot, we have to rebound.

FPU's LAST GAME RECAP (Courtesy FPU Sports Information): Fresno Pacific improved to 5-4 on the season with an 87-54 non-conference win over Bethesda on Wednesday night.

John Taylor led the Sunbirds with 21 points and six assists, while Malcolm Griffin added 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Rickey Vick had 13 points and Antonio Credit finished with 11 points and nine rebounds in the win.

After a lopsided loss to California Baptist last night, the Sunbirds made it a point to work on spreading the ball around, and it resulted in a season-high 25 assists. Taylor was flawless at the point guard spot, handling the ball all night without a turnover.

FPU was much better on the defensive end as well, holding the Flames to 38 percent shooting on the night and forcing 18 turnovers.

“Our team did a good job of moving the ball,” said head coach Chris Wright. “We still have a long ways to go. We need to continue to work on being unselfish, getting tougher and really being committed to what we're trying to do.”

The Sunbirds never trailed in the game and would close out the first half on a 13-6 run to lead 43-33 at the break. FPU quickly extended the lead to 20 early in the second half and wouldn't look back, running away with the 33-point win.

The Sunbirds were efficient on offense throughout the night, finishing at 57 percent from the field and 44 percent on 11-of-25 three-pointers. FPU got a boost from its bench as well, whihc outscored Bethesda's 22-0 in the victory.

Ralph Monday led the Flames (1-10) with 22 points.

ZACH ATTACK: Dixie State sophomore forward/center Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) named the Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.

The conference announced the award on Monday, Dec. 3, for games played Nov. 26 – Dec. 2.

It is the first Player of the Week honor for Robbins in his career and the second consecutive week he has been highlighted by the conference (Week 3 Fantastic 15).

In the Red Storm's lone contest of the week, Robbins led Dixie State to an 82-64 victory over Hawai'i Hilo on Dec. 1 by scoring 17 points, collecting 14 rebounds and blocking a pair of shots.

He made 66.7% (6 for 9) of his attempts from the field to rank 11th in shooting for the week in the PacWest.

“He's getting better and better everyday,” head coach Jon Judkins said after the Red Storm's PWC win over Hawai'i Hilo. “He plays so hard and is long long, he causes so many problems (for other teams).”

WEST REGION AND OPPONENTS IN TOP 25: Dixie State has dropped out of the group receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, but other West region and common oppoents are highlighted. The defending national champions of Western Washington are the highest ranking West Region team at No. 8. Two other Western teams are also in the Top 10 - Seattle Pacific (8), Cal Poly Pomona (9). Alaska-Anchorage, Chico State and CSU San Bernardino all received votes. A piar of DSC opponents from the South Central Region - Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa - are also in the pod of teams receiving national votes.

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