DSC returns home for PWC tilt with Urban Knights (MBB Game Notes)

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Dixie State Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (16-4, 11-1 PWC) vs. Academy of Art (3-19, 1-11 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 11, 2012
SITE: Burns Arena (4,825)
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) and Devin Dixon (analysis)
SERIES: Dixie State leads the all-time series 6-0 over ART U

STORM RETURN HOME TO CLASH WITH URBAN KNIGHTS: Dixie State College, winners of nine straight and current leaders atop the Pacific West Conference, return to the Burns Arena for league battle with the Academy of Art University. Start time 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 game with a 16-4 overall record and a 11-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 76.75 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 forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) and senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) with each posting 12.2 points per game. Cole dishes out 4.6 assists a game while Jones leads the club with 6.2 rebounds a game. Junior guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.8 points per contest and Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) tops all scorers off the bench with just fewer than eight a game (7.2). DSC is averaging 72.9 PPG while holding opponents to 65.4 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.8 field-goal percentage defense.

KNOWING THE URBAN KNIGHTS: > The Urban Knights (3-19, 1-11 PWC) fell victim to the Dominican Penguins on February 7, 82-68. Czar Robotham netted 22 points and ART U leading scorer Ameer Shamsud-din chipped in 19 points. The Knights shot 50 percent for the game, but could not recover after Dominican scorched the nets in the first half, 79.2 percent. ART U is 0-2 in games against common opponents - the Knights lost at home to UC San Diego 80-66 and were shut down by Seattle Pacific in Phoenix 63-33. Mark Sembrowich is in his third year at the Academy of Art University after spending time at Stanford, Army and Yale. At ART U, he has compiled a 8-66 overall record and a mark of 3-41 in Pacific West Conference play. His assistant, Julius Barnes, is the older brother of former DSC point guard Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos).

LAST TIME OUT: For the first time in program history, Dixie State College completed a four-game sweep of the Hawaiian Islands road trip. Monday night at the Blaisdell Center, Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) led all scorers with 17 points and Dalton Groskreutz (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) added 16 points off the bench in the Red Storm's 80-68 win over Hawaii Pacific University. Dixie State improved to 16-4 on the year and 11-1 within the Pacific West Conference with its ninth straight win. Hawaii Pacific is now 7-12 and 2-9 in the PacWest. An 11-0 run ending with a Groskreutz 3-pointer put DSC in front 15-4 five minutes in. The Storm increased it early lead to 15 points at 19-5 before HPU posted a run. The Sea Warriors closed within three at the 6:21 mark. Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak), who led DSC with five rebounds, sparked a 12-0 closing run with a three-ball. Mitch Frei (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) and Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) added free throws before Frei tallied back-to-back lay-ins. Dixie State led 39-30 at the break. The lead did not dip below 10 points over the opening 10 minutes of the second half. DSC extended its advantage to as much as 17 points. HPU picked up the intensity, drove to the bucket and also hit key outside shots to cut the Storm's lead to seven, 71-64 with 3:24 left. DSC closed the game hitting nine free throws and holding HPU to just four points over the same period. LaBrent Chappell paced the Sea Warriors with 15 points, Fran Urli has 12 points and Marko Cukic finished with 10. Dixie State connected on 25-of-48 from the field (52.1 percent) and outrebounded HPU 33 to 29.

GRIFF STREAKING, IN A GOOD WAY: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) has scored many points this year, 243 to be exact entering Saturday's game with Academy of Art. Most impressive is the string of consecutive 10+ point games – currently at eight. The streak began with 17 points in a redemption win over Domincan, also the largest single point total in the string. Jones scored 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting at Hawaii Pacific on Monday night.

ROAD WARRIORS: 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 32-14 record (.695). One other team, BYU-Hawaii (28-17), 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.

GOOD ON THE COURT AND IN THE CLASSROOM: For the Fall 2011 semester, the DSC men's basketball team posted a team grade point average of 3.08 – the highest for any single men's team. Three players – Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon), Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) and McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) – came in with 3.8 individual averages. The entire department earned a collective 2.95 GPA – the highest mark in school history.

AROUND THE PAC WEST: Only two games have been played within the league since Monday night. Dominican took Tuesday's Bay Area battle with the Urban Knights at home, 82-68. Jacob Noisat had a career-high 24 points leading the Penguins to their fourth straight win. ART U guard Czar Robotham has 22 points in the loss. BYU-Hawaii defeated Chaminade on Wednesday 81-63 on the road despite playing without Jet Chang for the third game out of the last four (Chang played against DSC on 2/4). Five Seasiders scored in double figures, led by forward Bracken Funk with 16. Matt Cousins posted 18 points for the Silverswords, who have lost three straight.

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:                                  11-1
2010-11:                                  13-3
2009-10:                                  14-2
2008-09:                                  8-4
2007-08:                                  10-8
TOTAL:                                    56-18

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