LAS VEGAS – Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half to lead Dixie State to its fifth consecutive bounce-back win, a 67-62 victory against Saint Martin's on day two of the Las Vegas Challenge on Thursday at the Orleans Arena.
 
Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) had 11 points and seven rebounds while DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) had 11 points and four assists for the Red Storm (5-4), who avoided a two-game losing streak by splitting action during the two-day tournament. Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) finished one point away from a double double – nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Tyler Idowu had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Riley Carel netted 11 points off the bench for Saint Martin's (3-8). The Saints lost to Rollins, 73-67, on Wednesday to go winless during the classic.
 
The Storm built a 9-1 lead in the opening five minutes behind two Ogden field goals and one of two Sawyer 3-pointers on the night. SMU cut the lead down to four multiple times before another 7-2 spurt capped off by a Sawyer steal and Nielson bucket gave DSU a 27-18 lead.
 
Bench play from Carel and Brent Counts trimmed the lead to three, 30-27 at the break.
 
A triple from SMU's Will Bond officially erased the Dixie State at the 14:10 mark of the second half, 38-38. Dixie State never fell behind at any point during the game despite the Saints' best effort to tie thing up multiple times in the second half.
 
With the score knotted at 44-44, DSU would employ a 13-3 run to reestablish a seven-point lead. Braden Saunders (Morgan, UT/Morgan) came up with a clutch triple against the SMU zone to spark the rally. Lay-ins from Thompson and Ogden preceded a Sawyer 3-ball. Sawyer was fouled on a driving lay-in bucket for a 56-47 lead, but the junior missed on the and-1 free throw to make the lead 10 points.
 
SMU wasted no time with a furious response. Trey Ingram nailed a transition triple to tie the game for the fifth time in the half, 58-58, after a 11-2 run.
 
Freshman guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta) nailed a floater in the paint and later knocked home two crucial free throws with 31 seconds to reward DSU with a two-possession lead.
 
An Idowu dunk trimmed the Storm lead to two points, but three late charity shots from Sawyer and Thompson sealed the deal.
 
After a poor 33 percent total in the first half, Dixie State knocked home 53 percent of their shots in the second half. Overall, the Storm was 26-62 from the floor. For the second straight game, the outside shooting seemed shaky (4-21, 19 percent). DSU won the rebounding battle 41-33, including 17 offensive boards.
 
Dixie State will return home Saturday afternoon for a Pacific West Conference matinee with Holy Names. Tip time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the Burns Arena.
 
NOTES: Dixie State is now 2-0 all-time against Saint Martin's… the Storm won a 2011 meeting, 77-60, on a neutral court game hosted by former PacWest school Grand Canyon … Ogden fouled out for the second consecutive game, leaving Thursday's game at the final media timeout (3:32)… Hill notched a career-high six assists, four coming in the second half against the zone of SMU… Dixie State is 4-2 all-time in the three-year history of the Las Vegas Challenge (wins over Central Missouri, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's)… DSU's only losses at the Orleans Arena came in 2012 against Pittsburg State and Wednesday night against Seattle Pacific.