Storm vs. Lancers - Round 1 (MBB Notes)

Dixie State welcomes PWC newcomer to Burns

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Dixie State Game Notes | Cal Baptist Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (17-4, 12-1 PWC) vs. Cal Baptist (15-4, 9-3 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 14, 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: First ever meeting

VALENTINE'S DAY MATCHUP WITH THE LANCERS: Dixie State College, winners of 10 straight contests and current leaders atop the Pacific West Conference, meet the Cal Baptist Lancers for the first time ever on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 inside the Burns Arena. 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 17-4 overall record and a 12-1 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 senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) at 12.7 points per game while dishing out 4.6 assists a game. Senior forward Griffon Jone leads the club with 6.2 rebounds a game and is second in scoring at 12 points. Junior guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.5 points per contest and Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) tops all scorers off the bench with just fewer than eight a game (7.5). DSC is averaging 73.4 PPG while holding opponents to 65.4 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.5 field-goal percentage defense.

LOOKING AT THE LANCERS: The Lancers are in their second year of NCAA Division II candidacy. CBU (15-4, 9-3 PWC) lost at home for only the second time this season on Saturday night, 65-55 to Grand Canyon. Ivan Patterson had 17 points on seven-of-10 shooting and pulled down a team-best seven boards. Luke Evans and Justus Von Wright each tallied nine points as the Lancers shot41.3 percent from the floor. GCU used a 17-2 closing run to nip the Lancers. CBU did not play any common opponent of the Red Storm in the non-conference portion of their schedule. A 75-56 loss to CSU Los Angeles was the Lancers' only non-conference game this year featuring an NCAA Division-II opponent. With 441 career coaching victories in 22 seasons at four-year institutions, CBU Head Coach Tim Collins is currently ranked 23rd among NCAA Division II coaches. Collins is in his 33rd season as a collegiate head coach, which includes 11 years at the junior college level. He picked up his 600th coaching victory (at all levels) with a 56-54 win at Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 30, 2012. He is currently the second longest tenured coach in program history and is second with 180 wins in his 10th year at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State College defeated Academy of Art, 83-65, on Saturday night to extend its program-best winning streak to 10 games. Senior guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) led the way with 22 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Red Storm improved to 17-4 overall and 12-1 in the Pacific West Conference. Ameer Shamsud-din led the Urban Knights (3-20, 1-12 PWC) with 22 points. “I thought we played better in the second half,” said Dixie State head coach Jon Judkins. “This was a scary game for us coming off a long road trip to Hawaii, but we came together nicely.” Cole netted 18 of his 22 points in the first half, leading the Storm to a 10-point lead, 26-16, at the 8:31 mark. The Knights picked up the defense and executed nicely to cut DSC's advantage to 35-30 at the half. Dixie State sprinted out of the gate after intermission. Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) scored the first five points with a lay-in and an open 3-pointer. The run was the catalyst for an 18-6 run that extended the halftime lead of five to 17. The cushion never dropped below 12, allowing Judkins to empty his bench late. Dalton Groskreutz (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) was perfect in the second half (3-3 FG, 4-4 FT) notching 11 of his 13 game points. Jensen had 11 points and Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) added 10 to round out the four Storm players in double figures. For Jones, it was the ninth straight game in double figures. Dixie State shot 27-of-57 from the floor (47 percent) and 76 percent from the charity stripe. The Storm outrebounded the Urban Knights 41 to 31.

GRIFF STREAKING, IN A GOOD WAY: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) has scored many points this year, 253 to be exact entering Tuesday's game with Cal Baptist. Most impressive is the string of consecutive 10+ point games – currently at nine. 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 and added 10 more points to extend the streak against ART U.

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 28-3 home record, a .903 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: BYU-Hawaii kept pace with DSC last Friday night with a 92-75 win over Notre Dame de Namur in Laie. Jake Dastrup and Jet Chang each had 17 points for the Seasiders. NDNU's Tyler Fricke led all scorers with 23 points. BYU-H spurted out to a 16-point halftime lead before playing an even second half with the Argos. Grand Canyon won their third straight road game, 65-55, at Cal Baptist on Saturday. The Lopes closed the game on a 17-2 run to snatch victory from the Lancers. Jerome Garrison posted 17 points for GCU while Ivan Patterson had the same for CBU. Hawaii Pacific held Dominican to 37 percent shooting in Honolulu to defeat the Penguins 64-52 in a game contested at McKinley High School. Fran Uril led the Sea Warriors with 14 points. On Sunday, Hawaii Hilo downed NDNU on the Big Island, 66-59, for its second league win. Terrell Mack exploded for 34 points, including 14 of 15 from the free-throw line. Arron Mollet had 16 points for NDNU in the loss.

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:                                    12-1
2010-11:                                    13-3
2009-10:                                    14-2
2008-09:                                    8-4
2007-08:                                    10-8
TOTAL:                                        57-18

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