Men's Basketball 1/2/2014 12:07:00 AM John Potter, Media Relations Assistant

[PREVIEW] Hawaiian Islands trip for DSU men's hoops

Storm face UH Hilo, Chaminade and HPU on week-long trip to 50th state

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MEDIA INFORMATION
Date	Thurs., Jan. 2 \| 10:30 p.m. MT Sat., Jan. 4 \| 10:30 p.m. MT Mon., Jan 6 \| 8 p.m. MT
Location	UHH Gym - Hilo, Hawaii McCabe Gymnasium - Honolulu, Hawaii Blaisdell Arena - Honolulu, Hawaii
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Radio	ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM \| Dixie State All-Access
Radio Talent	John Potter (play-by-play)
Live Audio/Video	Dixie State All-Access
Live Stats	Hilo Live Stats Chaminade Live Stats HPU Live Stats
Game Notes	Dixie State
Twitter	@DixieAthletics #DixieMBB
DIXIE STATE RED STORM
Record	9-0, 3-0 PacWest
Ranking	7th (NABC)
Head Coach	Jon Judkins
	Career: 438-204 (20th year)
	DSU Record: 154-81 (9th year)
HAWAI'I HILO VULCANS
Record	3-7, 0-4 PacWest
Ranking	NR
Head Coach	G.E Coleman
	Record at UHH: 3-7 (1st year)
CHAMINADE SILVERSWORDS
Record	5-5, 2-0 PacWest
Ranking	NR
Head Coach	Eric Bovaird
	Record at CHAM: 35-30 (3rd year)
HAWAII PACIFIC SEA WARRIORS
Record	7-2, 2-1 PacWest
Ranking	NR
Head Coach	Darren Vorderbruegge
	Record at HPU: 55-84 (6th year)

HAPPY HAWAIIAN NEW YEAR: Three games in the Hawaiian islands highlight the opening of 2014 for the nationally ranked Dixie State University men's basketball team. On Thursday, Jan. 2, the Red Storm battle Hawaii Hilo on the Big Island at 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian time (10:30 p.m. Mountain). Two days later on Oahu, the Chaminade Silverswords welcome Dixie State to McCabe Gym on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m. HT. The trio of island games closes on Monday, Jan. 6, at 5 p.m. HT against the Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors inside Honolulu's Blaisdell Arena. The games will have live radio coverage on ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM with John Potter providing the play-by-play action from the Big Island and Oahu. Links for live stats and online audio/video are found on DixieAthletics.com and DSU All-Access (DixieAthletics.com/showcase).

DSU LANDS IN HAWAII WITH NO. 7 RANKING: Basketball at the NCAA Division II level gets back to business this week after the seven-day hiatus has been completed and as action – particularly conference play – gets going, the new national rankings have a bit of a shakeup after the results of the final week of play prior to the holiday break. The top four spots remain unchanged, with West Liberty again leading the way and Bellarmine, Drury and Florida Southern holding the next three spots. The first change comes at No. 5, where Western Washington's two losses in Las Vegas allowed the four teams immediately behind the Vikings in the last poll – Metropolitan State, Indiana (Pa.), Dixie State and Southern Indiana – to all move up one spot as a result. Tarleton State moves into the top ten as does East Stroudsburg to complete the top 40 percent of the final poll of the 2013 calendar year. The next team in Seattle Pacific at No. 11, followed by Findlay, Colorado School of Mines, Minnesota State and Western Washington, who dropped 10 spots with the two setbacks. Indianapolis comes in at No. 16 and Montvallo, who also dropped its first game if the year in the week prior to the break, is 17th thie week, followed by Lincoln Memorial. Cal State San Bernardino, who along with Tarleton State knocked off WWU in Las Vegas, is the highest-ranked newcomer to the pool at No. 19 and is one of five newcomers to the rankings heading into 2014. Franklin Pierce checks in at No. 20 and Chico State makes its first appearance of the year at No. 21, as does Lewis at No. 22. Alaska-Anchorage returns to the poll at the 23rd spot, while the poll is completed with Georgia Southern at No. 24 and Barry at No. 25.

LAST TIME OUT – STORM WINS LAS VEGAS CHALLENGE: Junior guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (Las Vegas, NV) led Dixie State in the first half and senior forward Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT) took the reins in the second half pushing the Red Storm past Montana State Billings, 83-65, to win the men's championship of the second annual Las Vegas Challenge at the Orleans Arena. Dixie State shot 59.3 percent from the floor (32-54) to remain unbeaten at 9-0 heading into the holiday break. The Yellowjackets fell to a break even 5-5 on the year being held to 37.7 percent shooting. Thompson had seven early points including a 3-ball that broke an 8-8 stalemate. DSU never surrendered the lead. A Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA) lay-in at the 7:38 mark bumped the Storm's advantage to double figures. Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) (West Jordan, UT) cashed in a floater to make the score 42-30 at the halftime break. Groskreutz scored 14 of his career-high tying 23-point performance in the second half. His energetic outburst on a baseline shot while drawing a foul early in the period kept DSU hungry despite never seeing its lead dip back into single figures. Thompson finished with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He made all six shots from the free throw line and pulled down a career-best seven rebounds. Robbins cashed in 14 points to round out three DSU players in double figures. Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) (Alpine, UT), like Thompson, had a personal best seven boards. Connor Donaldson led MSUB with 18 points while Jonathan Mesghna had 11 points and eight boards.

STORM PICKED TO WIN, ROBBINS HONORED: Dixie State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Pacific West Conference, and Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) was selected as the preseason Player of the Year according to a coaches' vote released Thursday, Nov. 7, by the league. Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) was also selected on the All-PacWest Preseason Team. The Red Storm received nine of 13 first-place votes to take the top spot with 165 points. Fresno Pacific (136) edged BYU-Hawaii (135) for second place while both teams received a first-place vote. Chaminade ranked fourth in the vote followed by Azusa Pacific, California Baptist and Hawai'i Pacific to round out the top half of the predicted order. Dixie State was the only school with two players voted to the Preseason All-PacWest squad. The other members honored by the league were Lee Baily from Chaminade, Malcolm Griffin from Fresno Pacific, Troy Leaf from Azusa Pacific, DeAndre Medlock from BYU-Hawaii and Malte Ziegenhagen from Hawai'i Pacific.

THE TEAM:
THE RETURNERS:
> Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak), a 6-4 combo guard/forward, is back for his senior season after missing last year rehabbing a knee injury. The Cedar Hills, Utah, native was the 2007 PacWest Freshman of the Year.
> Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon), the 6-6 forward from Santa Clara, Utah, returns for his senior season after having a great junior campaign. He averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the season while shooting 80-percent from the charity stripe. Groskreutz was a second-team all-PacWest honoree.
> Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow), the 6-4 guard from Gresham, Ore., played 12 games for Dixie State last year. He averaged 1.5 points per game.
> Curtis Papenfuss (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas), a 6-8 forward from Happy Valley, Ore., appeared in 27 of the 28 DSU games last year. Papenfuss had a season-high 20 points off the bench at Azusa Pacific.
> Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak), a 6-0 senior from Alpine, Utah, is expected to be the returning starter at point guard for Dixie State. Payne ranked third in the PacWest with 5.0 assists per game.
> Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland), the 6-10 combo forward/center from Upland, Calif., was selected as the Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. He is the DSU all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots.
> DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy), the 6-2 shooting guard from Las Vegas, expects to crack the starting lineup this year. Thompson finished last year strong to post a 9.2-point per game average.
> Braden Saunders (Morgan, UT/Morgan), the 6-3 guard from Morgan, Utah, returns to DSU after serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He redshirted for the Storm prior to his mission.

THE NEWCOMERS:
> Nate Ensign (American Fork, UT/American Fork), a 6-9 center, is a true freshman from American Fork, Utah. Ensign just returned from a mission.
> Louis Garrett (Saint George, UT/Pine View), the 6-6 senior forward from St. George, transferred from San Jose State. Garrett averaged 6.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in mainly a reserve role for the Spartans last year.
> Jordan Rex (Saint George, UT/Pine View), the 6-9 hometown product from St. George, will play center for the Red Storm. Last year, Rex redshirted at Weber State.
> Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan), the 5-10 sophomore guard from West Jordan, Utah, will likely start the season backing up Payne at point guard. Sawyer signed to play at Boise State after a stellar career at West Jordan HS. He transferred to Snow College before embarking on a church mission.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Four Dixie State players are moving up the career record book ages in multiple stats. Senior guard Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) had four assists against Colorado Mesa to pass McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) and become the DSU all-time leader. Payne passed Maurice Cole into fourth place and needs five steals to move into third ahead of Dan Stock. Junior forward Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland), already the DSU leader in career blocks, moved into sixth place passing Donovan Plunkett in the NDNU game. He needs 64 points to pass Ben Hartman for fifth. Robbins became the all-time rebounding leader past current DSU assistant Ryan Sanchez and offensive rebounding leader, passing Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie), with 15 rebounds (5 offensive) at Western Oregon. Senior forward Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) passed Hartman for fourth on the career-scoring list and needs 168 points to move into second place past Tom Whitehead. Dalton needs four field goals to move second place, ahead of Whitehead. Three makes from beyond the arc moves Groskreutz into sixth place in front of Dan Stock. In free throws made, he moved into fifth place past Kasey Winters and needs 11 charity shots to pass Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) for fourth. Dalton passed Andy Palmer for ninth place and Winters in eighth in rebounding over the SPU tourney – he needs 18 boards to claim sixth ahead of Massey. With one blocked shot, Groskreutz tied Troy Randall for ninth place and two swats will notch eighth place past Nick Howard. Junior guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) needs one 3-point field goal to pass Johnny Little for eighth on the career list.

• HAWAI'I HILO VULCANS

> Hawai'i Hilo, under first-year head coach G.E. Coleman, has a 3-7 record overall and is winless (0-4) in Pacific West Conference play. Only one of the four league games was played at UHH Gymnasium, an 80-62 loss to BYU-Hawaii on December 7.
> The Vulcans were selected to finish 11th out of 13 teams in the PacWest preseason coaches vote. UHH is 0-1 against DSU common opponents, losing to Western Oregon, 76-72, on Nov. 9.
> UH Hilo is led in scoring by junior point guard Darnell Williams as 12.3 points per game. Only one other UHH player, guard Joey Rodriguez, averages in double figures (12.0). Senior forward Brandon Thomas paces the Vulcans with 7.0 rebounds a contest.
> Coleman was a longtime assistant at Central Washington University under Greg Sparling before being hired at UH Hilo this past year.

LAST TIME vs. HILO, 2013: It had been 1,001 days since Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) last competed in the trenches of a Pacific West Conference game. Time away from the rigors of league play did not show up Saturday night, as the sophomore center posted a double-double helping the Dixie State College men's basketball team to a 82-64 victory over Hawai'i Hilo inside the Burns Arena. Dixie State rebounded from a pair of losses last weekend in Colorado to improve to 4-2 on the year, while taking a positive first step to 1-0 in the PacWest. Robbins had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and pulled down 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Not too bad for the post player who missed two full seasons while serving his church mission. "We play really well in spurts," Robbins said. "Tonight, the second half was an entire spurt." Dixie State outscored UH Hilo 39-23 over the final 20 minutes. The Vulcans struggled shooting 20 percent from the floor and 18 percent from distance in the second half. Junior forward Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) led all scorers with 19 points. Twelve of those points came late as the talented player hit four of the team's 13 buckets. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half. The Red Storm led by as many early, but late turnovers and solid execution of the Hilo offense cut the DSC advantage to just two at the break, 43-41. Defense sparked the Storm's 25-7 run over 12 minutes midway through the second half, the critical span aiding in victory. Head coach Jon Judkins expressed his happiness with the increased focus of his team on the defensive side. "We challenged them to keep them in front of you, keep them out of the middle and contest shots," Judkins said. "Our goals included rebounding and running the lanes, we did a better job of that." After surrendering 20 points inside the paint to UHH in the first half, DSC succeeded in closing up lanes in the key holding Hilo to just six points over the final 20 minutes. Eleven players scored for Dixie State. DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (12) and McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) (10) joined Groskreutz and Robbins in double figures. Two Storm players had career scoring nights – Brandon Simister (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) (St. George, UT/Desert Hills) with nine points and Dillon Bishoff (Monroe, UT/South Sevier) (Monroe, UT/South Sevier) with six. C.J. Brown netted 15 points for the Vulcans (1-5, 0-1 PWC) in the losing effort.

• CHAMINADE SILVERSWORDS

> Entering this week, the Silverswords sport a breakeven 5-5 record, but an unblemished 2-0 mark in the Pacific West. Chaminade lost their last contest, 62-61, to Lake Superior State at home in non-conference action.
> The Swords were selected to finish fourth in the PacWest in a preseason vote, but did pick up one first-place vote from the coaches. CUH has a 1-0 record against DSU common opponents – beating Western Oregon 82-73 in the season opener on November 8.
> Christophe Varidel, a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, leads Chaminade in scoring at 21.8 points per game, but has not played since thrilling a national audience in the Maui Invitational (including a 42-point game against Baylor). Lee Bailey (15.6) and Kiran Shastri (12.0) also average double figures per game in scoring. Kuany Kuany, a talented freshman from Australia, rips down 6.4 rebounds a game.
> Eric Bovaird is in his third year in Honolulu after serving as an assistant coach at West Liberty University in West Virginia. The Hilltoppers are currently the top ranked team in the NABC Division II National Poll.

LAST TIME vs. CHAMINADE, 2013: Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) amassed 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the field, while McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) reeled off 21 points as Dixie State outlasted Chaminade 92-80 in the inaugural Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday, March 9, in Azusa, Calif. The PacWest Women's and Men's Basketball Championship Tournaments are being held concurrently at Azusa Pacific University's Felix Event Center in Azusa, Calif. The Red Storm captured both the PacWest regular-season and tournament titles, and claimed the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. Dixie State will compete in the NCAA II West Regional next week at a site and date to be announced. The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament Selection Show will air live on the Internet at 7:30 p.m. PST on Sunday evening, March 10. Chaminade, along with Grand Canyon, are candidates for at-large berths. Chaminade held a slim 38-35 lead at the half, but the Red Storm shot 60.0% (18 for 30) from the field in the second half and went 20 for 22 (90.9%) from the line following intermission to outscore the Silverswords 57-42 in the final 20 minutes. Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) finished the game with a double-double, recording 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) added 10 points and six assists. Bennie Murray led all scorers with 27 points, while De'Andre Haskins posted 14 points and seven rebounds. Lee Bailey tallied 13 points and Waly Coulibaly totaled 12. Larson was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and was one of three Dixie State players on the All-Tournament Team. Robbins and Massey earned also made the squad. Chaminade was represented by Haskins and Murray, while BYU-Hawaii's Junior Ale also received a spot on the team. Dixie State is now 22-6 on the season while Chaminade is 19-10.

• HAWAI'I PACIFIC SEA WARRIORS

> Hawai'i Pacific has won four games in a row to post a 7-2 overall record, including a New Year's Day win over British Columbia, 82-75. HPU is 2-1 in PacWest play – beating Hilo and BYUH, losing to Chaminade.
> The Sea Warriors were slotted in the middle of the PacWest preseason coaches vote after being picked to finish seventh. They are 2-1 against DSU common opponents: beat Central Washington 71-64 on Nov. 22, lost to Seattle Pacific 73-57 on Nov. 23, and beat St. Katherine 102-85 on Dec. 22.
> Justin Long paces HPU at 18.5 points per game after posting 35 in the club's win on January 1 against UBC. Long also dishes out a team-high 2.8 assists per contest. Farbod Farman is tops with a 6.9 rebounds per game average.
> Darren Vorderbruegge is in his sixth year as HPU head coach while also serving as the department's athletic director.

LAST TIME vs. HPU, 2013: Leaving the floor at the Burns Arena for a final time with the crowd standing for a well-deserved ovation is how every senior dreams of ending his playing career. Monday night, in front of 2,730 fans, two of Dixie State's favorites capped off their journeys by scoring in double figures to lead the Red Storm to an 83-66 win over Hawai'i Pacific in Pacific West Conference play. Senior shooting guard McKay Massey (Payson, UT/Payson) (Payson, UT/Payson) and junior center Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) each had 15 points as DSU improved to 19-6 on the season, 14-3 in the PacWest. Senior forward Derek Owen (St George, UT/Dixie) (St George, UT/Dixie) added 10 points in his second start of the year. DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) and Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) rounded out five DSU players in double figures. HPU (9-15, 6-11 PWC) scored the first four points in the opening half before DSU rattled off seven straight points thanks to the seniors. Owen cashed in a shot of the glass before Massey nailed a pair of jumpers including a 3-pointer. Tied at 14-14 at the 9:18 mark, Dixie State used a 20-5 run over seven minutes in seizing momentum. Thompson scored six of his 13 points during the string. Six shots from distance for the Sea Warriors kept them within nine points at the half, 36-27. Long shots continued to fall for HPU I the second half, leading to a 13 for 30 night from the arc (43.3 percent). The visitors pulled within six early and trailed by nine, 68-59, at the 5:39 mark. Dixie State pulled away with a 9-0 run over a span of 1:26 beginning with a driving lay-in from Groskreutz. The junior had four points in the string toward getting to his season average of 12 points. Owen added two free throws and Massey nailed one of his three long distance shots. Ten different DSU players scored on the night. The Storm made 30-of-61 shots (49.2 percent) with seven makes behind the 3-point line. Dixie State dominated the boards 45-25 overall incorporating 16 offensive rebounds. Malte Ziegenhagen led all scorers with 21 points for Hawai'i Pacific.

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