OPENING TIP: Fresh off a sweep at last weekend's Montana State Billings Thanksgiving Classic, the Dixie State's men's basketball team (3-3/0-0 PacWest) wraps up its six-game road swing this week as the Storm begins defense of their Pacific West Conference title with two league games in southern California. DSU opens the trip Thursday, Dec. 3, with an early test at nationally-ranked and preseason conference favorite California Baptist at 7 p.m. (PT) inside the Van Dyne Gym on the CBU campus in Riverside. The Storm will then head further south to San Diego for a league game at Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. (PT), inside the Golden Gymnasium on the PLNU campus.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action, along with Devin Dixon providing color analysis for all home games. All DSU home games are also televised live on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22) with a simulcast feed from ESPN Radio, with tape-delay rebroadcasts throughout the following week. In addition live-streaming audio and video (home games only) are available on the internet at www.southernutahlive.com.

THE SERIES: Dixie State holds a 6-2 edge in its series vs. California Baptist, though the Storm has split the previous four meetings with the Lancers after winning the first four games between the two programs. Both of CBU's wins have come at home, including an 88-81 result (12/6/14) last season in Riverside, and a high-scoring 100-90 affair (1/18/14) during the 2013-14 season.

DSU is 5-1 all-time against Point Loma and has won three-straight in the series overall, including a 54-49 decision the last time these two teams met in San Diego. The lone Sea Lions' win in the series did come at home, 65-63 (1/25/14), during the 2013-14 campaign.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 471-222 career record) is his 11th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 187-94 overall record, including a 167-83 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era. Last season Judkins led the Storm to a 20-8 record and the program's fifth Pacific West title in six years with a 17-3 league mark. In addition, he guided DSU to its sixth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, Judkins served as head coach at Snow College for 12 season and posted a 284-128 overall record. He led the Badgers to a pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 1999 and 2000, which earned him SWAC Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one season at Dixie State before transferring to Utah State, where he became the first (and only) Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Judkins is joined on the DSU bench by Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), who is in his third season as assistant coach, and Kevin Williamson (University of Great Falls, 2007) who is in his first season on the Storm sideline.

STORM PICKED THIRD IN THE PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish third in the 2015-16 Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll. California Baptist received 13 first place votes and 195 total points in being tabbed as the PacWest preseason favorite. BYU-Hawai'i picked up one first place vote to narrowly edge Dixie State for second, 169-166, followed by Azusa Pacific (146) in fourth, Chaminade (130) in fifth, Hawai'i Pacific in sixth (123) and Point Loma (120) in seventh to round out the top-half of the poll.

Dixie State senior point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) was named to the PacWest Preseason all-Conference team, while CBU senior guard Gelaun Wheelwright was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State wrapped up the non-conference portion of its 2015-16 slate with a 3-3 overall mark as the Storm posted wins over Alaska Fairbanks (71-58) and MSU Billings (75-72) at the MSUB tourney last weekend. Now in its 10th-season of four-year competition, Dixie State has played to a 54-49 (.524) overall record against non-PacWest opponents, including a 43-35 mark (.551) since the 2007-08 season, the first year the Storm competed in the PacWest. In DSU's first season of four-year competition in 2006-07, Dixie State recorded an 11-14 record.

DSU has posted five winning non-conference records in its past seven seasons, including a program-best 6-1 mark in 2013-14, and an 8-3 record in 2010-11. Last year the Storm went 3-4 against non-PacWest teams. DSU road sweep at MSUB also moved the Storm to 21-12 all-time against members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).  

HILL NAMED PACWEST CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) was named Pacific West Conferenc Co-Player of the Week Monday for his efforts in leading the Storm to a sweep at the MSUB tournament last weekend.

Hill averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in DSU's two wins on the trip. He tallied 13 points with five rebounds and three assists in the Storm's triumph over Alaska Fairbanks. He then followed that up with a career-high 28 points, including 16 first half points, with a game-high six assists and three boards in DSU's victory at MSUB. He only missed three total shots on the night vs. the Yellowjackets, going 11-of-14 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START: Dixie State will start PacWest play on the road for the third-straight season when the Storm takes the court at CBU on Thursday. DSU has won its previous two conference-opening games away from the Burns Arena, including a 54-49 win at PLNU last season, and a 72-54 triumph at Notre Dame de Namur in 2013-14.

In all, Dixie State is 6-2 all-time in PacWest openers and has won three-straight and six of its last seven overall. The lone two blemishes on the ledger are a 78-63 set back in DSU's first-ever conference game in 2007-08 at Hawai'i Hilo, and a rare home loss in 2010-11 vs. former PacWest member Grand Canyon (1/8/11).

In PacWest home openers only, DSU is 7-1 all-time, while the Storm is 6-2 in league road openers. The last time Dixie State lost a conference road opener was at Fresno Pacific, 82-80, during the 2012-13 season.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to an 84-19 (.815) record inside the Burns Arena under head coach Jon Judkins. The Storm has posted six 10-plus win seasons over that span, including a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and an 11-1 mark last season.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: For the fifth-straight year, Dixie State finished a season ranked in the top-five nationally in home attendance. In 2014-15, DSU recorded the fifth-highest home attendance average in Division II at 2,607 fans per game for 12 home dates last season. In all, a total of 31,286 fans attended a DSU game in the Burns Arena.

Since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State has been ranked in the top-15 in Division II in attendance, including being ranked #2-overall in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and #3 in the country after the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. DSU was also ranked ninth in 2009-10, and 14th in 2008-09. Dixie State also finished fifth among Utah's other NCAA (Division I) members in attendance in 2014-15, ranking only behind Brigham Young (16,125), Utah (12,101), Utah State (9,158) and Weber State (6,829) in average attendance.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: With the MSUB sweep Dixie State improved to 84-65 away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 64-50 record in road games, and a 20-15 mark in neutral site games. DSU has won eight or more games away from home in six-straight seasons, and in seven of its nine previous campaigns overall, including a program-best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.

FOR STARTERS: Senior forward Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) pulled down nine rebounds and scored five points in the opener vs. CUO, and followed that up with 15 points and six boards along with two steals and two blocks vs. SPU ... grabbed 10 rebounds to go with nine points, one assist and a block at SSU ... led four players in double figures with 16 points, including 8-of-8 from the line, with six boards and two blocks vs. SFSU ... notched his first double-double of the year with 10 points (4-of-8 shooting) and a season-high 11 rebounds vs. UAF ... tallied 10 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks in the win at MSUB.

Junior forward Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) just missed his first collegiate double-double with a game and career-high 14 rebounds and nine points in the win over CUO ... he also three assists and a steal vs. the Cavaliers ... hit on 3-of-5 shooting to finish with 10 points and four caroms vs. SPU ... pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass, with seven points at SSU ... battled foul trouble and finished with seven points and two boards vs. SFSU ... scored a career-high 13 points with six rebounds, a block and an assist vs. UAF ... was plagued by foul trouble at MSUB and finished with four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.

Sophomore guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) opened his season with a bang as he went for 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, a career-high nine assists, three rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes vs. CUO ... scored a then-career-high 20 points to lead four players in double figures in the loss vs. SPU ... sparked a furious second half rally at Sonoma State with eight-straight points, finished with 16 points with six rebounds and four dimes ... hit 4-of-6 shots for 11 points with six assists and five boards vs. SFSU ... tallied 13 points with five rebounds and three assists vs. UAF ... followed that up with a career-high 28 points, including 16 first half points, with a game-high six assists and three boards at MSUB ... missed three total shots on the night vs. the Yellowjackets, going 11-of-14 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.

Senior point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers and three assists in the win over CUO ... he scored eight of his 11 points in the second half to help spark a furious rally vs. SPU, also dished out four assists with three boards and two steals ... had three points and two assists at SSU ... tallied 13 points with two rebounds and an assist vs SFSU ... finished with four points with five boards, two assists and two steal vs. UAF ... bounced back with 14 points with three treys and two rebounds at MSUB.

Sophomore guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) tallied nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes vs. SPU ... he earned all-tournament honors at Sonoma State as he averaged 16.5 points and shot 44.4 percent from the floor (50.0 from 3pt) in the two games ... led all scorers with 19 points - all in the second half - at SSU as he and Hill led a 26-5 Storm run, accounting for 12 of those points ... got his first collegiate start vs. SFSU and responded with 14 points and two assists ... poured in a career-high 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 9-of-9 from the line with five boards, two assists and two steals vs. UAF ... had eight points and five rebounds at MSUB.

OFF THE BENCH: Senior forward Robbie Nielson (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) had his best season-opening game in his four-year DSU career in the opener vs. CUO, going for 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds in the win ... battled foul trouble against SPU and played just 13 minutes with four points and one rebound ... tallied two points and four boards at SSU ... came off the bench to score eight points with four rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes vs. SFSU ... had eight points, five boards and three steals in 22 minutes vs. UAF ... just missed his first double-double of the year with nine points and a career-high tying eight rebounds at MSUB.

Sophomore forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) made the most of his season debut in the opener vs. CUO and he hit 5-of-8 shots for 13 points (two off of his career-high) with three rebounds and three assists ... tallied seven points and one rebound in 16 minutes at SSU ... had four points and four boards in 19 minutes vs. SFSU ... played but did not score vs. UAF ... finished with two points and two rebounds at MSUB.  

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA BAPTIST LANCERS: The preseason PacWest favorites (8-1) check in at No. 10 in the NABC Coaches' Poll and No. 17 in the D2SIDA media poll, and are a perfect 5-0 at home this season. Junior guard Michael Smith is the Lancers' top scorer (19.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg), while senior guard and Preseason PacWest Player of the Year pick Gelaun Wheelwright is averaging 14.7 points and 2.3 boards a contest.  

ABOUT THE POINT LOMA SEA LIONS: Point Loma (4-2), which hosts Azusa Pacific Thursday to open league play, has won three-straight overall, including a 93-84 win at Cal State Los Angeles last Saturday. The Sea Lions boast four players averaging double figures, led by senior forward Sam Okhotin at 16.0 ppg, while freshman point guard Josh Rodriguez is averaging 13.8 points and 7.5 assists per game.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for three-straight games, beginning with an exhibition contest vs. Bristol University on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. DSU will then close out the 2015 portion of its regular season against PacWest foe Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 3:30 p.m., before ringing in 2016 with a home date against Chaminade on Tuesday, January 5, at 7:30 p.m.