ST. GEORGE – Four players scored in double figures led by 20 from junior shooting guard
DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) as Dixie State won its lone exhibition game 76-63 over Arizona Christian at the Burns Arena on Monday night.
Thompson hit six shots from the floor and all seven free throws he attempted in 32 minutes. Junior point guard
Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) had his best night in a Dixie State uniform with 19 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland), a Sporting News Division II Preseason All-American, had 14 points and six boards.
Mark Ogden (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) posted a double double in his Storm debut – 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Arizona Christian was led 15 points from Charles King, who connected on four quick triples in the opening minutes. The fiery start pushed the visiting Firestorm to a 16-4 lead.
Aided by an 8-3 run late in the half, Dixie State closed within a point after the horrid start. Thompson's jumper in the final minute gave DSU its first lead at 33-31. ACU hit the final of eight threes in the first half to take a 34-33 lead at the break.
The tide of the game turned when the Storm outscored ACU 22-7 in opening eight minutes of the second half. Robbins had seven points in the string, Sawyer nailed a triple and freshman forward
Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork) made back-to-back layups for a 55-41 lead.
Brandon Newman nearly led ACU singlehandedly on an answering 8-0 run with six points and forcing two turnovers. The Firestorm closed within six, 63-57, on a layup from Sharif Watson.
Dixie State kept ACU off the board over the final two minutes and scored seven straight points to win.
The Red Storm shot 44.6 percent from the floor for the game. From the stripe, DSU finished at 75.9 percent after sinking 11-of-12 (92 percent) in the second half. Led by Ogden, freshman guard
Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta) – with nine boards, and Robbins, Dixie State dominated the rebounding battle 51-24.
Dixie State has three weeks until the regular season opener on Thursday, Nov. 18 at home against Montana State Billings. Game time from the Burns Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
