Dixie State (7-4, 4-1 PacWest) will open PacWest play in 2015 with a three-game trip to Hawaii. They play at Hawai'i Hilo on Saturday, Jan. 3, taking on the Vulcans at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian time. Next, the Storm heads to Oahu for a meeting with Chaminade on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at McCabe Gymnasium in Honolulu at 7:30 p.m. HT. Closing out the trip is another chapter in the heated rivalry between Dixie State and BYU-Hawaii. DSU play the Seasiders on Thursday, Dec. 8, in the Cannon Activity Center with tip-time set for 7:30 p.m. HT. The Storm Basketball Network – ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM and SouthernUtahLive.com's audio feed – has coverage.
The Red Storm has won three straight games including a 93-70 home win over Academy of Art on Dec. 31. Five players scored in double figures, led by 23 points from Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland).
Dixie State has winning records in the all-time series against Hawai'i Hilo and Chaminade, but is a few games below .500 against BYU-Hawaii. DSU has won nine straight against the Vulcans and holds an 11-3 overall advantage in the series. Last season, the Storm survived a scare and clipped UHH in overtime 79-74 on the road. They followed with a 97-69 won at Burns on Feb. 13, 2014. In 16 meetings with the Silverswords, Dixie State has won 12 games including nine of the last 10. In another close games on the islands, DSU beat Chaminade 87-86 in Honolulu and followed with a February 15 win at home, 90-77. BYU-Hawaii has a 9-7 lead in the all-time series vs. DSU. Despite the mark, Dixie State has won four of the last five games. In the only meeting last season, the Storm rallied from eight points down in the final minutes to force overtime and ultimately down the Seasiders, 107-94.
THREE THINGS – DIXIE STATE (7-4, 4-1 PWC)
1. Dixie State has scored 90+ points in two consecutive games. Prior to that, Dixie State had consecutive 88-point games – a loss at California Baptist and a home win against Fresno Pacific.
2. Freshman forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork) has two straight games scoring in double figures. He has raised his PPG average by 1.5 points from 5.0 to 6.5 after 15 points against HNU and 11 against ART U.
3. The Storm went 2-1 last year during its Hawaiian excursion. Two wins came against UH Hilo and Chaminade while the loss occurred at Hawai'i Pacific. The loss was the first of the season for Dixie State after an 11-0 start.
THREE THINGS – HAWAI'I HILO (5-5, 1-2 PWC)
1. Shocking the Seasiders – UH Hilo knocked off nationally ranked and previously unbeaten BYU-Hawaii in their last game before the holiday break, 82-79.
2. Reigning PacWest best – Tre Johnson is the league's leading scorer at 21.0 points per game. He also was named Pacific West Conference Player of the Week after putting in the game-winning basket versus BYUH.
3. Despite the big win, UHH was called for 25 team fouls, leading to 38 free throws for the Seasiders.
THREE THINGS – CHAMINADE (4-5, 1-2 PWC)
1. Don't let the record fool you … the Silverswords are a high-caliber team. Chaminade hosts the nationally televised Maui Invitational every year and took three losses to quality Division I programs – Pittsburgh, BYU and Missouri.
2. Four players all average 12.3 PPG or higher – Lee Bailey, Kiran Shastri, Kuany Kuany and Kevin Hu.
3. Fourth year head coach Eric Bovaird spent time at Division II powerhouse West Liberty as an assistant before taking the head coaching spot at Chaminade.
THREE THINGS – BYU-HAWAII (8-1, 2-1 PWC)
1. In addition to bringing back three starters from last year's PacWest Tourney qualifying squad, the Seasiders raided the Division I rosters in Utah to bring in three bouncebacks – Danny Berger (brother of former DSU player, John) and Jordan Stone from Utah State, Ian Harward from BYU.
2. BYU-Hawaii is 10th in the nation in scoring average at 90.2 points per game.
3. The man on the bench, Ken Wagner, coached at Dixie State before moving to Laie. Wagner is in his 25th year as head coach and 11th as athletic director at the school.
RETURNING FACES: This season's roster includes eight players with game experience or time on the practice squad -
Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) - 15.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG as a PacWest 1st team selection - 17 double doubles
DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) - 14.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, .453 3FG% as a 2nd Team All-PacWest pick
Jordan Rex (Saint George, UT/Pine View) - 6.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG - 3 double doubles
Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) - 7.1 PPG, 2.6 APG as the backup point guard
Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) - 6.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG as a reserve guard and forward
Braden Saunders (Morgan, UT/Morgan) - played in 11 games, scored seven points
Ryan Graves (Huntsville, UT/Weber) - missed season due to injury
Sterling Brandley (Ogden, UT/Ben Lomand) - redshirted, member of the practice squad
STORM NEWCOMERS: Six players will wear the Dixie State jersey for the first time this season -
Collin Woods (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon) - 7.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG, .767 FT% at Salt Lake Community College last season - played as a freshman at UC Irvine
Connor Van Brocklin (Fruit Heights, UT/Davis) - 1.8 PPG in seven games last year at the University of Utah
Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) - Pacific Coast Conference 2nd Team at Grossmont College - 14.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG
Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork) - returned missionary freshman from American Fork HS - 12 PPG, 5 RPG as a senior
Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta) - Deseret News Utah 5A 2nd Team last year - 11.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.5 APG (No. 1 in 5A)
Anthony Morris (Mesquite, NV/Virgin Valley) - transfer from Snow College - 6.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, .519 FG%
ROBBINS PRESEASON SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICAN: Senior forward/center Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) was named to the Sporting News NCAA Division II All-American Second Team. Robbins becomes the first Storm player to earn such a prestigious honor. He was a PacWest First Team selection in 2013-14 and earned two West Region nods (Daktronics/NABC).
PACWEST PRESEASON NEWS: The Dixie State men's basketball team has been chosen second in the Pacific West Conference preseason coaches poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday. Senior forward/center Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) (Upland, CA/Upland) secured a spot on the Preseason All-PacWest Team for the second consecutive year. Defending league champion California Baptist was selected first, securing nine of 13 possible first-place votes. The Red Storm and Dominican, picked to finish sixth, each garnered one first-place vote. Third-place Chaminade received two first-place votes BYU-Hawaii was tabbed fourth, and Azusa Pacific fifth in the vote. Rounding out the league's remaining seven, in order, were Point Loma, Hawaii Pacific, Fresno Pacific, Academy of Art, Notre Dame de Namur, Hawaii Hilo and Holy Names. Robbins was a PacWest 1st Team All-Conference selection last year and garnered West Region recognition by the coaches and sports information directors. He was named the Preseason Player of the Year in 2013-14 and backed it up with a stellar season averaging 15.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while posting 17 double doubles.
THE JUDKINS FILE: Jon Judkins, a five-time PacWest Coach of the Year (2009-13), directed Dixie State into the playoffs in each the last five previous seasons. He has a 172-88 record at DSU, including a 21-7 mark last year. DSU tied for second in the PacWest regular season and qualified for the league tournament. The Red Storm posted a 22-7 record in 2013, equaling the school record for victories in the NCAA era. The squad won the 2013 PacWest regular season with a 15-3 conference record and Tournament titles to earn a West Regional Automatic bid. Judkins led DSU to the 2011 West Regional Final against league rival BYU-Hawaii in 2011. That season, the Red Storm won their only two Regional games to date with triumphs over Chaminade and Seattle Pacific. Judkins led DSU in its final year of junior college competition in 2006 to a 21-12 record. Prior to coaching at Dixie State, he spent 12 years, posting a 284-128 record, at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. The Badgers won the SWAC titles in 1999 and 2000, earning Judkins league Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one year at Dixie State before serving an LDS mission. He transferred to Utah State and became the first Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped the Aggies win their conference tournament and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
