First Place Storm clash with Sea Warriors (MBB Game Notes)

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Dixie State Game Notes
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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Dixie State College (15-4, 10-1 PWC) at Hawaii Pacific (7-11, 2-8 PWC)
DATE: Feb. 6, 2012
SITE: Blaisdell Arena (7,500)
TIP-OFF: 7 p.m. Hawaiian (10 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 8-2 over Hawaii Pacific

STORM CLASH WITH SEA WARRIORS IN HONOLULU: Dixie State College, winners of eight straight and current leaders atop the Pacific West Conference, face Hawaii Pacific in the final game of the Storm's Hawaiian road swing. Start time from the Blaisdell Arena is set for 7 p.m. Hawaiian (10 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 15-4 overall record and a 10-1 mark in the Pacific West. The Red Storm have averaged 76.3 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) with 12.4 points per game and senior point guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) at 11.9 points. Cole dishes out 4.6 assists a game while Jones leads the club with 6.4 rebounds a game. Juniors McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) averages 9.9 points per contest and Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) adds just fewer than eight a game. DSC is averaging 72.5 PPG while holding opponents to 65.3 points on the defensive end, including a conference-best 40.9 field-goal percentage defense.

LOOKING AT THE SEA WARRIORS: The Sea Warriors (7-11, 2 -8 PWC) has lost four straight since handing Cal Baptist its first conference loss. HPU dropped a 73-56 decision at home to Grand Canyon. The Warriors are in in the third game of a five-game closing homestand. HPU will play its final five games on the road - three in the Bay Area and two tests at Hilo, BYU-Hawaii. HPU was 0-1 in games against non-conference common opponents - they dropped a 70-52 decision to Seattle Pacific inthe opening game of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge in November. Darren Vorderbruegge enters his sixth year as the Director of Athletics and fourth as head basketball coach at Hawaii Pacific University. Originally arriving at HPU as the head coach for the men's basketball program in June, 2006, it didn't take long for “Coach V” to make his mark. After a two year hiatus from basketball to focus on leading the Athletic Department, he returned to the sidelines in 2010.

LAST TIME OUT: Down by nine at intermission, Dixie State College opened the second half outscoring BYU-Hawaii 27-10 and survived a late Seasider charge en route to a 70-69 Pacific West Conference victory at the Cannon Activities Center on Saturday night. Griffon Jones (Cheney, WA/Cheney) (Cheney, WA/Cheney) led Dixie State (15-4, 11-1 PWC) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Solomon Jensen (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) (Centerville, UT/Viewmont) posted a career-best 15 points and added seven rebounds. Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (St. George, UT/Snow Canyon) came off the bench with 13 points including a pair of rim-rattling dunks. BYU-Hawaii (11-8, 8-2 PWC) controlled the tempo early and led by as many 11 late in the first half. Five 3-pointers and eight of nine free throws gave the Seasiders a 37-28 lead at the break. Jet Chang, returning from a two-game suspension, and Bracken Funk each had 10 points in the first half. The Red Storm flipped the script in the opening 12 minutes of the second half, turning a nine-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Groskreutz's dunk at 12:36 gave the Storm its first lead at 44-43. De'Quan Thompson extended the lead to four with a 3-pointer. Four minutes later, a Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) jumper pushed the lead to 57-47 and forced BYUH to call time. Jake Dastrup twice brought the Seasiders within one point. Once with a three-ball and the final time, making one of two free throws with 41 second left. Dixie State turned the ball over, allowing BYUH a final chance with 19 seconds in regulation. Dastrup (22 points) pulled up on the baseline with a jumper that missed long off the iron. Chang finished with 16 points while Funk posted a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds. DSC shot above 50 percent for the fifth straight game (28-of-55, 50.9 percent) and outrebounded BYUH 38-26 on the evening.

MO EARNS SECOND PLAYER OF WEEK HONOR: Dixie State senior guard Maurice Cole (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) (Norwalk, CA/Santa Fe) has been named the Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks. The honor was announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, Feb. 6, for games played Jan. 30-Feb. 5. Cole led the Red Storm to a 3-0 week in Hawai'i that included back-to-back road victories at Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii when first place was on the line. He averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 52.0% (13 for 25) from the floor. He led the PacWest in assists per game for the week and - when combining his scoring and assist average - Cole was responsible for more than 23 points per outing.

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 ten games, after scoring a game-tying high 17 points at Hilo. In the last six games, Cole has picked up his helpers – accounting for 41 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 31-14 record (.688). 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 500-point mark for his two-year DSC career. The senior forward has 529 points scored in 48 games for the Red Storm. In addition, Jones has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games.

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: Four games, including DSC's comeback win at BYUH, dotted the Pacific West schedule on Saturday. Dominican defeated Notre Dame de Namur 49-45 in a defensive battle. Jacob Noisat had 17 points while Xander McNally swiped four steals. Grand Canyon held on to a substantial halftime lead en route to a 84-71 road win at Hawaii Hilo. Five players scored in double figures for GCU. Cal Baptist beat Chaminade 72-63 to end their first trip to the islands with a 3-1 record.

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: 10-1
2010-11: 13-3
2009-10: 14-2
2008-09: 8-4
2007-08: 10-8
TOTAL: 55-18

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