HILO, Hawaii – After a horrendous first half, Dixie State erased a 20-point second half deficit and took the lead in the final minute before the host Hawai'i Hilo posted the first six points in overtime to edge the Storm, 83-75, on Saturday evening at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
 
Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) led Dixie State (7-5, 4-2 PacWest) with 21 points and Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) added 12 points before fouling out with 7:43 left in regulation. Tre Johnson scored 21 points leading five Vulcans (6-5, 2-3 PacWest) in double figures.
 
Dixie State trailed for most of the first half after a 5-0 UHH run broke a stalemate three minutes into the first half. The Storm made only five field goals in the opening 20 minutes, the last coming at the 7:39 mark on a 3-pointer from freshman Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta). The Vulcans closed on an 11-0 run to take a 38-18 lead at halftime.
 
The Storm started making its push early in the second half. Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) kicked off a 6-0 run with a pair of charity shots followed by a Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) triple. DeQuan Thomspon added a free throw to slice Hilo's lead to 14.
 
UH Hilo maintained a double-figure lead midway through the second half, but Dixie State would not roll over. A 9-0 run saw seven free throws swish through the net and a jumper hit just inside the arc from Collin Woods (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon).
 
Sawyer's 3-ball with 4:05 left put the Storm within striking distance, trailing 60-55.
 
Ogden and Hill nailed jumpers to put DSU down one, 64-63. Free throws played a critical role down the stretch in regulation. Sawyer hit two and Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork) hit four important charity shots to give the Storm its first lead since 5-3 early in the first half. UHH got an equalizer with 3 seconds on the clock to send the game to overtime.
 
Johnson netted the first six points in overtime to make sure DSU never got closer than two points in the overtime session. Dixie State missed three close looks before finally scoring with 40 seconds.
 
Dixie State finished the game shooting 33.9 percent from the floor, an improvement from the anemic 17.9 percent in the opening half. The Storm netted 5 of 15 from distance and 28-35 from the line.
 
The current Hawaiian road trip continues with a Tuesday night, Jan. 6, matchup at Chaminade. Tip with the Silverswords is set for 7:30 p.m. HT.
 
GAME NOTES: This was the fourth overtime game in the series with the Vulcans and second in consecutive seasons. Dixie State is 1-3 in OT games in Hilo, winning last year 79-74 at UHH Gym. DSU has not won an overtime game played at the Civic Auditorium … The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak against the Vulcans dating back to Valentine's Day 2010.