ST. GEORGE, Utah – Senior forward Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) registered his third game with 20+ points this season with an efficient 10-of-15 effort from the floor to pace five players in double figures as Dixie State closed out the 2014 calendar year with a resounding 93-70 win over Academy of Art on Wednesday afternoon at Burns Arena.
 
Robbins added 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) added 17 points and five assists while senior guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) dished off six dimes in addition to 16 points for the Storm (7-4, 4-1 PacWest), who were playing their first game since the NCAA Division II holiday moratorium. Junior guard Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) had 13 points and a career-tying high eight rebounds. Freshman forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork) came off the bench with a solid second half en route to 11 points and six rebounds.
 
"Defensively, I was pretty happy in the second half," Dixie State head coach Jon Judkins said. "We held them to 27 percent shooting … we got some of the rust off today and saw these guys with fresh legs for the first time since the season started."
 
During the first eight minutes of the game, the teams traded runs resulting in an early DSU advantage before the Urban Knights (3-7, 1-3 PacWest) posted seven consecutive points to take a 19-14 advantage. Thompson evened the game with a 3-pointer and finger roll layup on successive possessions.
 
Holding a two-point lead under the 4-minute mark, Dixie State closed the first half on a 9-2 run sparked by a Nielson triple to take a 47-38 lead at halftime.
 
The Storm expanded the lead to 20 points with nine unanswered points as part of a 12-1 spurt over five minutes to begin the second half. A 3-ball from Alexis Moore (17 points) snapped the DSU rally.
 
After ART U pulled within 13 points at the 10:26 mark, Dixie State closed the game outscoring the Knights 28-18, including three big shots from outside by Thompson and Nielson. Hunter scored 7 of his points in the spurt that included a crowd-pleasing one-handed dunk.
 
Moore led four ART U players in double figure scoring. Nick Cary had 13 off the bench in the first half. Herman Pratt added 12 points and Trent Stokes nabbed 10 points.
 
The Red Storm scored 32 points in the paint and used a 49-35 advantage on the glass to score 21 second-chance points. They scored their second-most points of the season, trailing only the 95 they had in a home win against Holy Names.
 
Dixie State will continue PacWest play on Saturday night, kicking off a three-game road trip to the Hawaiian Islands. Awaiting the Storm on the Big Island will be Hawai'i Hilo at 7:30 p.m. HT from the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
 
GAME NOTES: Dixie State improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against Academy of Art … the 23-point margin of victory is the second largest against ART U, behind a 45-point win (99-54) on Feb. 12, 2011 at home … Robbins registered his 32^nd double-double of his career … It is the third time DSU has had five players in double figures, the first in league play. The Storm is 3-0 in those games.