Men's Basketball 2/7/2014 12:36:00 PM John Potter, Media Relations Assistant

[PREVIEW] Storm host Hawks in @ThePacWest play

Dixie State looks to bounce back vs Holy Names

MEDIA INFORMATION
Date	Sat., Feb. 8 \| 7:30 p.m. PT MT
Location	Burns Arena - St. George, UT
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Radio	ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM \| Dixie State All-Access
Radio Talent	John Potter (play-by-play) Devin Dixon (analysis)
DSU Audio/ Video	Dixie State All-Access
DSU Live Stats	DSU Live Stats
Game Notes	Dixie State
Twitter	@DixieAthletics #DixieMBB
DIXIE STATE RED STORM
Record	15-4 / 9-4 PacWest
Ranking	RV (NABC)
Head Coach	Jon Judkins
	Career: 444-208 (20th year)
	DSU Record: 160-85 (9th year)
HOLY NAMES HAWKS
Record	5-16 / 4-9 PacWest
Ranking	NR
Head Coach	Omar Sanchez
	Record at HNU: 45-69 (4th year)

ONLY MEETING WITH HAWKS CONTINUES HOMESTAND: Game three of Dixie State's current homestand will feature the only regular season matchup between the Red Storm and the Hawks of Holy Names University. Tip time of this Pacific West Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 8, is at 7:30 p.m. Mountain from the Burns Arena. DSU (15-4/9-4 PacWest) is looking to rebound after dropping its first contest at home last Saturday to Dominican. The Storm has not dropped consecutive games this season. Holy Names (5-15/4-8 PacWest) played Wednesday and XXXXX at Dominican, XX-XX. Saturday's contest will air on the Red Storm Radio Network (SportsRadio 106.1 FM; DixieAthletics.com/Showcase) with John Potter and Devin Dixon calling the action. CEC-Television broadcasts the games live on Baja Channel 22. Links for live stats and online video are available on DixieAthletics.com

STORM DROP OUT OF TOP 25, STILL GETTING VOTES: Losing four of their last seven games have officially dropped Dixie State men's hoops out of the NABC Division-II Top 25 poll. The Red Storm still received five national votes to sit in the "Others Receiving Votes" category.

Losses by the top two ranked teams in last week's NABC/Division II poll – which cut the number of the remaining undefeated teams at this level in half – has brought Metropolitan State back to the top of the rankings in a week in which four teams received first place votes. The Roadrunners, winners of 15 consecutive games, held the top spot in the first two polls of the year before ceding that spot to West Liberty, who suffered its first loss of the season to Notre Dame (Ohio) on Thursday. Last week's second-ranked team, Florida Southern, also fell for the first time a day prior to West Liberty in an overtime setback at Rollins. Metro State is followed by the two remaining undefeated teams, Tarleton State and East Stroudsburg, who on Saturday became the first Division II team to reach the 20-win mark this season. Drury moved up a spot to fourth and West Liberty holds down the fifth spot this week. Florida Southern dropped four spots at well to sixth, while Lincoln Memorial, Indianapolis, Indiana (Pa.) and Montevallo all rose up or into the top 10. Colorado School of Mines heads up the second 10, followed by Cal State-San Bernardino, California Baptist, Delta State and Southern Indiana. This week's No. 16 team is Southern Connecticut State, with South Carolina Aiken, Cal Poly Pomona, Seattle Pacific and Wisconsin-Parkside completing the top 20. The final five teams this week are Minnesota State, Lewis, Fort Hays State, Georgia Regents University and Lake Superior State.

LAST TIME OUT – HOT SHOOTING PENGUINS PUT FIRST HOME BLEMISH ON DSU RECORD: Entering Saturday's league matchup with the Dominican University of California Penguins, the Dixie State men's basketball team hoped its stellar field goal shooting would return after four straight games collectively shooting below 50 percent. It did to the tune of 50.8 percent (32-63) from the floor. The problem: Dominican shot better. Devin Golston led all scorers with 25 points and point guard Myles Carrillo added 20 as the Penguins shot 56 percent overall and 54 percent from behind the 3-point arc to down the Red Storm 97-88 at the Burns Arena. The Penguins withstood a run midway through the second half that saw DSU erase a 12-point deficit to win before a crowd of 3,484. Missed opportunities from the free-throw line and the field failed the Red Storm down the stretch. It was the first loss for Dixie State at the Burns Arena this season (5-1). "When you work that hard to get back into a game and you miss foul shots, not just one like two in a row, you can't win games," DSU head coach Jon Judkins said. "I thought we played hard when we were down 12, but we need that effort during the entire game." The first half saw 10 ties and six lead changes. Dominican (15-9/9-5 PacWest) knocked down six of their 12 total 3-pointer in the opening 20 minutes. Golston did most of his damage inside with 15 first half point. Jonny Bates also hit three shots, two from distance, for 10 off the bench. The Dixie State (15-4/9-4) bench kept the home team close. Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) (Gresham, OR) posted 10 points on 3-of-4 shots while Curtis Papenfuss (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas) (Happy Valley, OR) added six points and four boards. Dominican led at the half 44-40 and used a 10-2 run the first three minutes of the second half to open a 12-point lead. Dixie would begin erasing the advantage inside the 14-minute mark with a Louis Garrett (Saint George, UT/Pine View) (Saint George, UT) steal and reverse dunk. A Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) (Alpine, UT) floater followed consecutive 3-point shot makes by Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak) (Cedar Hills, UT) and Papenfuss to cap a 12-2 Storm run. Garrett's three-point effort a minute later knotted the game at 68-68. The Penguins responded with a 5-0 run. Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) (Santa Clara, UT) took control for Dixie State over a four-minute span. He scored 11 of his team-high 20 points and pulled down two rebounds to keep the Red Storm within striking distance, 84-82, at the 2:02 mark. Garrett poked away the ball for a steal and had a one-on-one opportunity to tie the game. His lay-in shot was slightly altered and rolled out of the rim. The Penguins connected with an open shot for an 86-82 lead. Down three with 1:06 left, Dixie State thought they forced a turnover on the Penguin baseline. A timeout had been called prior to the infraction. Out of the timeout, Matt Hayes drained a backbreaking 3-ball from the corner. The Storm would not get any closer than four points down the stretch while Dominican iced away the game with eight straight makes from the foul line Groskreutz was the only DSU starter in double figures. Nielson ended with a career-high 12 points, Papenfuss added 11 and Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) (West Jordan, UT) scored 10 points in 16 minutes. Dixie State bested the battle of the boards, 30-29. Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA) saw his six-game double double streak come to an end (seven points, six rebounds). DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (Las Vegas, NV) was held to a season-low six points on 1-of-4 shooting.

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.

• HOLY NAMES HAWKS

> Holy Names has lost four of their last five games by double figures, including Wednesday's 76-65 road game at Dominican. The lone victory was a 77-70 win at home against Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 25. The Hawks are 5-16 on the year and 4-9 in the PacWest. HNU has struggled away from Tobin Gym with a 1-8 road record (Fresno Pacific on Jan. 8, 85-79).

> HNU is led in scoring by Alameda College transfer Harold Perry Jr. at 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Joshua Crum (11.5 PPG) is shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and freshman Dante Robinson (10.2) is over 40 percent from the 3-point arc. Terrance Swayne follows Perry in the rebounding numbers averaging 4.7 boards. The Hawks rank 12th in the PacWest scoring 67.8 points per game while allowing 76.6 points (8th best).

> Omar Sanchez enters his fourth year as the Head Coach Basketball Coach for the men's program. Sanchez spent eight seasons as a top assistant to former head coach and mentor Dennis Jones. In his playing days, Sanchez started at UC Davis, but after blowing out his ACL and having reconstructive knee surgery, Sanchez transferred Solano College He then transferred to Holy Names and helped lead his team as a two year captain and defensive player to one California Pacific Conference Championship.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2/14/13 Dixie State 93, Holy Names 68

LAST TIME vs. HNU, 2013: Junior forward Steven Larson (South Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) hit 13 of 16 shots from the floor en route to a career-high 28 points to lead 19th-ranked Dixie State College to a 93-68 road win Thursday at Holy Names in Pacific West Conference play.

Larson's third 20-point effort of the year included nine rebounds, two higher than his individual high.

Dixie State (17-5, 12-2 PWC) bounced back after a tough Monday loss at Dominican with a 61.4 percent shooting night and a wire-to-wire victory in the first ever meeting with the Hawks (4-19, 1-13 PWC) at Tobin Gym.

Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) added 14 points in just 21 minutes played. Curtis Papenfuss (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas) had three field goals and five free throws to notch 11 points off the bench. Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) chipped in 10 points – his eighth straight game in double figures – and six rebounds.

After opening with a 4-0 run, HNU hit a three to pull within two at 8-6. The Storm clamped down on defense and used the next 11 minutes to spurt out on a 23-5 run to build a 33-11 lead. The majority of the scoring came from the inside as Larson and Robbins combined for 17 first half points.

Dixie State held HNU to 20 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes to lead 42-16.

Another spurt of 7-0 opened the second half as the Storm led by as many as 37 early in the second half. HNU's Tyler Fry scored 17 second half points to end up pacing the Hawks with 20 points. Ian Collins went 7-for-9 from the floor for 17 points, all after the break.

Dixie State never saw the lead drop below 20 points over the final five minutes. All 12 players on the trip saw playing time and no player saw more than 25 minutes on the court. The Storm bested the battle of the boards 41-21, including 12 to seven on the offensive glass.

DSC shot a scorching 69 percent (20-29) in the second half and bested the 60 percent mark for the fifth time this year (35-57).

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