Storm vs. Swords - First meeting of year in Honolulu (Game Notes)

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Dixie State Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (13-4, 8-1 PWC) at Chaminade (9-7, 7-1 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 1, 2012
SITE: McCabe Gymnasium (2,800)
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 Chaminade

PAC WEST CLASH WITH THE SILVERSWORDS: Dixie State College, fresh off an opening win over Hawaii Hilo, travels to Oahu for an NCAA Tournament game rematch with Chaminade University on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. Start time inside McCabe 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 13-4 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 77.1 points per game in the 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) at 12.4 points per titl and forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) with 12.1 points per game. Cole dishes out 4.4 assists a game while Jones leads the club with 6.4 rebounds a game. Juniors McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 10.1 points per contest and Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) adds just fewer than eight a game. DSC is averaging 72.6 PPG while holding opponents to 65.5 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 41.0 field-goal percentage defense.

SURVEYING THE SWORDS: The Silverswords (9-6, 7-1 PWC) of Chaminade defeated Grand Canyon in overtime 69-66 on Monday. Rickey Clayborn had 10 points and 16 rebounds off the bench. Chaminade was 1-1 in games against common DSC non-conference opponents. The Swords down Saint Martin's back in November by 20 points and lost at home to Seattle Pacific 61-57 in December. Eric Bovaird is in his first season as head coach.    Bovaird was a long time First Assistant at fellow NCAA Division II, West Liberty University in Wheeling, WV. In his seven years at West Liberty, the Hilltoppers had the highest winning percentage in all of NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball. Remarkably, over that seven year stretch, the Hilltoppers led the nation in scoring six of the last seven years. They finished last year's season 33-1 and averaged 111 ppg. Not only has Bovaird had a storied coaching career, but he also was a two time All-American while playing at West Liberty 1992-95.   After a career in which he broke most of West Liberty's scoring records, he decided to accept offers to play professionally in both Europe and Australia through the 1996, 1997 and 1998 seasons.

LAST TIME OUT: Four Dixie State College starters scored in double-figures to lead the Red Storm to an 83-76 win in Pacific West Conference play at UHH Gymnasium. The road victory gave DSC head coach Jon Judkins a milestone win – number 400 in his 16-year career. Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) and McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) each had 17 points for Dixie State (13-4, 8-1 PWC). Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (Cheney, WA/Cheney) and Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) chipped in 11 a piece. Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) hit two critical jumpers late to round out the starting five's production with nine points. Hawaii Hilo (7-11, 1-9 PWC) forward Zach Wilde posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Red Storm only trailed once at the 16:43 mark of the first half and led by as seven before UH Hilo knotted the game at 31-31 with just fewer than four minutes in the first half. Aided by free throws, DSC went on a 9-2 run and ended the half ahead 42-37. After intermission, UHH cut the Storm advantage to one in the opening two minutes. Dixie State had an answer spurred by a pair of Clegg shots followed by two Cole jumpers. Massey nailed back-to-back 3-pointers bumping the lead to 10, 71-61 at the 6:41 mark Hilo's last push brought them within three, but Jensen took over with a 3-ball and a long jumper. Clegg and Massey added late charity shots to pad the final cushion. Both teams shot over 50 percent for the game with Dixie State outpacing UHH (56 to 52.4 percent). The Vulcans outrebounded DSC 26-24, but the Storm won the turnover battle by four.

D.O. - TOP 10 WORTHY: Dixie State junior Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) nabbed a spot on the Pacific West Conference Top 10 honor roll for games played between Jan. 23-29. The distinction was announced by the league's media office in Arizona on Monday.
He led Red Storm to an 88-73 win over Hawai'i Hilo on Jan. 24 - its lone game of the week...scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out three assists and shot 75.0% (3 for 4) from the field in the victory...was perfect from the line (5 for 5).

COLE SCORING STRING, DISHING DIMES: Dixie State College senior Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games, after scoring a game-tying high 17 points at Hilo. In the last four games, Cole has picked up his helpers – accounting for 27 assists.

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 29-14 record (.674). 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.

GRIFF GETS TO 500: With 11 points against Hawaii Hilo, Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) surpassed the 50 point mark for his two-year DSC career. The senior forward has 501 points scored in 46 games for the Red Storm. In addition, Jones has scored in double figures in five consecutive games.

AROUND THE PAC WEST: Four closely contested games higlighted the Pacific West Conference schedule on Monday. Chaminade needed an extra period to defeat Grand Canyon at home, 69-66. Dominican notched its first road win of the year by downing Academy of Art 67-61 at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco. Also, Cal Baptist remained hot with a 56-54 win at Hawaii Pacific. The Sea Warriors had the lead until the final seconds when Andrew Fisk drained a pair of free throws and lay-in the game winner with three seconds remaining to seal a comeback win.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets to DSC home 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:       8-1
2010-11:       13-3
2009-10:       14-2
2008-09:       8-4
2007-08:       10-8
TOTAL:        53-18

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