Dixie State wins PacWest regular season title, secures top-seed in PWC tourney

Red Storm beat Point Loma 68-47

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SAN DIEGO - After spotting the hosts of Point Loma University a 5-0 lead, Dixie State University went on an 11-point spurt and never looked back.

The Red Storm won its fourth consecutive Pacific West Conference regular season title Saturday after defeating PLNU, 68-47, at Golden Gymnasium. The win notched DSU's fourth consecutive 20-win season and locked up the number one seed in the upcoming PacWest Conference Tournament.

Dixie State closed the regular season with a 20-6 overall record and takes the PWC crown with a 15-3 league mark. Tiebreakers pointed in the Storm's direction with season series advantages over Grand Canyon and Chaminade.

Sophomore guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) led all scorers with 16 points filling in the starting rotation for an injured Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon). Sophomore forward Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) notched his seventh double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) added 14 points, eighth rebounds and two steals.

Robbins began the initial DSU run with a lay-in at the 15:54 mark. A second short shot gave the Storm its first lead after McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) nailed a jumper. Freshman guard Brandon Simister (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) capped the rally with a floater and a 3-pointer.

A lay-in at the 7:50 mark put PLNU (5-21, 2-16 PWC) within eight, 23-15. Dixie State held the Sea Lions without a bucket for the next 7:02 while opening up the game with a 16-0 run. Thompson and Larson combined for the first 12 points. Thompson nailed his two long-range makes during the string while Larson had two layups and a couple of free throws.

Dixie State led at the break, 39-17, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor and 5-of-7 from distance. Stifling DSU defense held Point Loma to 6-of-32 in the first half, including a 1-of-16 clip from arc.

The Sea Lions closed the lead to 19 on a couple of occasions, but Dixie State hit for 50 percent of their second half shots (12-24) to keep PLNU at bay. On the night, the Red Storm bested its nation-leading field goal percentage with a 27-of-48 night from the floor (56.3 percent) and hit 6-of-10 from 3-point land.

Dixie State opens play in the second semifinal of the Pacific West Conference Tournament, hosted by Azusa Pacific, Friday at 8 p.m. Pacific against the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 4 Dominican and No. 5 BYU-Hawaii. Revenge will be on the mind for either opponent – Dominican beat DSU 78-75 in San Rafael on Jan. 11 and BYU-Hawaii gave the Storm its lone home loss, 80-75, on Feb. 23.

Advance tickets for the inaugural PacWest Men's Basketball Championship Tournament are on sale and may be purchased online by clicking PacWest Basketball Tournament, or by calling the Felix Event Center Box Office at 626-815-5494.

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