Storm Front heads to California (MBB Game Notes)

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Dixie State Game Notes | Cal Baptist Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (18-4, 12-1 PWC) at Cal Baptist (15-5, 9-4 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 18, 2012
SITE: Van Dyne Gymnasium (1,100)
TIP-OFF: 7:30 p.m. Pacific, 8:30 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 1-0

TAKE TWO WITH CAL BAPTIST: Dixie State College, winners of a school-record 11 consecutive games and leaders atop the Pacific West Conference, face the Cal Baptist Lancers in the second of back-to-back games on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, inside Van Dyne Gymnasium. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m. Pacific, 8:30 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 18-4 overall record and a 13-1 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 12.6 points per game while dishing out 4.6 assists a game. Senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) leads the club with 6.1 rebounds a game and is second in scoring at 11.9 points. Junior guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.6 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 73.5 PPG while holding opponents to 65.1 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.6 field-goal percentage defense.

LOOKING AT THE LANCERS: The Lancers are in their second year of NCAA Division II candidacy. CBU (15-5, 9-4 PWC) lost at home for only the second time this season on last 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: Junior forward Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) (St George, UT/Dixie) led all Dixie State scorers with 14 points coming off the bench, helping the Red Storm earn its 11th straight victory, 77-59 over Cal Baptist in front of 2,135 fans inside the Burns Arena. Dixie State improved to 18-4 on the season and 13-1 inside the Pacific West Conference. McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) hit both of his 3-pointer attempts and sank 5-for-5 from the line en route to 13 points while Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) chipped in 11 points and five assists. The Storm opened the game on an 18-5 run over the first eight minutes after CBU took their only game lead with a free throw, 1-0. Cole began the stretch with a lay-in, Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) and Massey added jumper in an initial six-point spurt. DSC led by as many as 18 points before taking a 38-25 lead into intermission. CBU's Justus Von Wright led the Lancers (15-5, 9-4 PWC) during a run that cut the Red Storm's lead down to eight points, 44-36 at the 15:23 mark. A quick 5-0 spurt – a Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) 3-pointer and two Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (Cheney, WA/Cheney) free throws – reinstated the halftime advantage. Von Wright had a game-high 18 points, 13 coming in the second half. Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) converted an old-fashioned three-point play off a Massey assist with 4:16 in the game for the game's biggest cushion, 23 points. Dixie State shot a blistering 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) over the final 20 minutes. The Lancers were forced into 17 turnovers despite outrebound DSC 31 to 29 for the night. Luke Evans (10 points) joined Von Wright as the only CBU players in double figures.

THE STORM, REGIONALLY SPEAKING: In the first Western Region rankings released by the NCAA on Thursday, Dixie State College sits at a familiar spot – No. 4. DSC entered the 2011 NCAA Tournament is the same spot, defeating Chaminade and Seattle Pacific before bowing out to BYU-Hawaii in the region's championship game. Ahead of the Red Storm in the top three spots are Western Washington, Alaska Anchorage and SPU representing the Great Northwest. Two more GNAC schools on the list are Western Oregon at five and MSU-Billings sitting at ninth. Representing the CCAA are Humboldt State (6^th), Cal Poly Pomona (7^th) and Chico State (8^th). The only other PacWest school in the rankings is BYU-Hawaii at number 10.

MOVING ON UP, NATIONALLY: In the latest NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, Dixie State received 5 votes, four more than last week. Out of the Top 25, but unofficially in 33^rd place thanks to the coaches' voting panel. Only three West Region teams are ahead of Dixie State: Western Washington (10), Alaska Anchorage (21) and Seattle Pacific (28).

JONES HELD UNDER DOUBLE FIGURES: Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) had string of consecutive 10+ point games broken against Cal Baptist. The senior forward had eight points on two-of-seven shooting from the floor and four-of-six from the free-throw line. Jones had 10 or more in the previous nine games dating back to the Storm's win on January 13 versus Dominican.

CAREER MARKS: Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) is six assists away from tying current DSC assistant coach Ryan Sanchez for third (197) on the Division-II helpers list. McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) needs five steals to pass Dan Stock (68) for second place. Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) is two games played away from tying Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) for the top spot in participation. With a start on Saturday, Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) will move into a tie for third with Ben Hartman and sit just five starts behind Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) for second.

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 29-3 home record, a .906 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: Action around the PacWest has been spread out thanks to games on the mainland and on the islands. Wednesday's action featured Notre Dame de Namur picking up its first true road win of the year in Honolulu, 66-60, against Chaminade. Arron Mollet had 25 points and Wesley White notched a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) for the Argos. Bennie Murray, coming off the bench, led the Silverswords with 17 points. NDNU won both games this season against Chaminade. On the schedule Thursday is a chance for redemption in the eyes of the Dominican Penguins. They travel to Laie to face BYU-Hawaii. Earlier in the year, the Penguins dropped a heartbreaker at the end when Junior Ale nailed a triple for a 74-73 win in San Rafael. On Friday, NDNU looks for a win at Hawaii Pacific. Two PWC games on Saturday are DSC at CBU and Dominican at Hawaii Hilo.

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:                                   13-1
2010-11:                                   13-3
2009-10:                                   14-2
2008-09:                                   8-4
2007-08:                                   10-8
TOTAL:                                     58-18

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