Red Storm Host Seasiders in PacWest Battle (MBB Notes)

DSC can wrap up league title with victory Wednesday

Dixie State Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (19-4, 14-1 PWC) vs. BYU-Hawaii (14-9, 11-3 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 22, 2012
SITE: Burns Arena (4,779)
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: BYU-Hawaii leads 8-4 over Dixie State

A CHANCE TO CLINCH: Dixie State College, winners of a school-record 12 consecutive games and leaders atop the Pacific West Conference, have their first chance to clinch the Pacific West Conference championship on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012, in a battle against the Seasisders of BYU-Hawaii. A DSC win would secure the Red Storm's third consecutive PWC title – also the first sole title after sharing the league crown over the past two seasons. 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 19-4 overall record and a 14-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 76.6 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 13.2 points per game while dishing out 4.7 assists a game. Senior forward Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) leads the club with 6.0 rebounds a game and is second in scoring at 11.6 points. Junior guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.7 points per contest and Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) tops all scorers off the bench with just fewer than eight a game (7.7). DSC is averaging 73.4 PPG while holding opponents to 65.2 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.8 field-goal percentage defense.

LOOKING AT THE SEASIDERS: The Seasiders (14-9, 11-3 PWC) of BYU-Hawaii, the defending national runners-up, began a Southwest roadtrip with a 72-59 loss at Grand Canyon on Monday. BYUH was held to 35.8 percent from the floor - Jake Dastrup led four Seasisders in double figures with 12. Ken Wagner is the most successful basketball coach in BYU-Hawaii history. He went to BYU-Hawaii in 1990 after proving himself as a high school and junior college coach. He started at Lehi (Utah) High School in 1980, then went to Dixie Junior College in St. George, Utah, where he compiled a record of 126-36 (.778). Wagner is in his 22nd year at BYUH.

LAST TIME OUT: Playing 50 miles from his hometown of Norwalk, Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) put on a show in front of friends, family and teammates in Van Dyne Gymnasium. The senior guard netted a career-high 26 points and dished out six assists as Dixie State College earned a come-from-behind road win at Cal Baptist, 70-67. The Red Storm improved to 19-4 overall and 14-1 in the Pacific West Conference. Cole led three players in double figures. McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) had 12 points and a team-high six rebounds while Dalton Groskreutz (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) notched 10 points off the bench. Cal Baptist, playing in front of a rowdy Homecoming crowd, was unflappable from distance in the first half. As a team, CBU (15-6, 9-5 PWC) connected on eight-of-15 attempts from behind the arc. Alexsander Milovic had four triples and Justus Von Wright added three. Despite the long-distance display, the Lancers only led 41-36 at the break. DSC used an 8-0 run late in the first half to cut an 11-point deficit down to three with a Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) jumper, a 3-pointer from Massey and a traditional three-point play from Cole. After intermission, Cole scored the first six points for the Storm. Groskreutz hit a 3-pointer two possessions later for Dixie State's first lead since 18:57 mark of the first half. Seven lead changes highlighted the second half before DSC posted an 8-0 run after the under-eight minute media timeout. Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) sparked the rally with a triple. Massey drained a baseline jumper and Cole connected from the elbow for a 64-54 lead with 4:35 left. CBU's Kevin Deeb led the Lancer comeback with nine points on three distance shots, the last pulled the hosts within one point at 68-67 with 14 seconds. Cole drew a foul and sank both clutch free throws. Milovic fired a final attempt that landed short and left to give the Storm the win. Dixie State shot 60.9 percent from the floor (28-of-46), the best field goal percentage since a loss at Grand Canyon in January 2010. The Storm committed just nine turnovers while forcing the Lancers into 15.

COLE NAMED PWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dixie State senior guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has earned his third Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor since Jan. 30. The PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, announced the award on Monday, Feb. 20, for games played Feb. 13-19. Cole led the Red Storm to a home-and-home sweep of California Baptist week by averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He ranked fourth in scoring, second in assist average, and sixth in committing steals for the week in the PacWest. He shot 65.2% (15 for 23) from the field, went 5 for 5 from the line, and hit a pair of three-point buckets. Cole scored a career-high 26 points and passed out six assists on Feb. 18 in a 70-67 comeback win vs. CBU.

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 (6th), Cal Poly Pomona (7th) and Chico State (8th). The only other PacWest school in the rankings is BYU-Hawaii at number 10.

MOVING ON UP AGAIN, NATIONALLY: In the latest NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, released Tuesday, Dixie State received nine votes, four more than last week. DSC still sits outside of the Top 25, but unofficially in 28th place thanks to the coaches' voting panel. Only three West Region teams are ahead of Dixie State: Western Washington (12), Alaska Anchorage (20) and Seattle Pacific (24).

CAREER MARKS: Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) tied current DSC assistant coach Ryan Sanchez for third (197) on the Division-II helpers list with six dimes at CBU. Cole sits 18 assists behind Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) for second place. McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) needs four steals to pass Dan Stock (68) for second place. Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) is one game played away from tying Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) for the top spot in participation. With a start on Wednesday, Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) will move into third ahead of Ben Hartman and sit just four 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 33-14 record (.702). One other team, BYU-Hawaii (28-18), 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: Last Saturday, Dominican completed its trip to Hawaii with a split, picking up a 66-61 win over Hawaii Hilo. Mark Lewis had 19 points off the bench for the Penguins. Zach Wilde posted a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Vulcans. Action on Monday saw GCU beat BYUH and Cal Baptist blow out Chaminade. The Lopes strung their fifth straight win by holding the Seasiders to 35 percent shooting in a 72-59 game. Braylon Pickrel scored a game-high 23 points for GCU. Jake Dastrup had 12 points on four 3-pointers leading the way for BYUH. In Riverside, Kevin Deeb sank seven shots from distance en route to 23 points and a convincing Lancers 87-63 win over the Silverswords. Ivan Patterson added 18 points for CBU. Bennie Murray notched 18 points while Matt Cousins had 14 points for Chaminade. Upcoming in the PacWest, GCU hosts Chaminade on Wednesday. Thursday sees a pair of Hawaiian schools traveling to the Bay Area – Hawaii Pacific faces the Urban Knights and Hawaii Hilo tangles with Notre Dame De Namur.

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:                                   14-1
2010-11:                                   13-3
2009-10:                                   14-2
2008-09:                                   8-4
2007-08:                                   10-8
TOTAL:                                     59-18

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