SAN FRANCISCO – When Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) does something that is a career best; you know it is a big deal. Saturday night at Kezar Pavilion, a gym in which the legendary Wilt Chamberlain displayed his extraordinary skill, Robbins scored 29 points as Dixie State defeated Academy of Art, 77-60, in Pacific West Conference play.
 
The Red Storm (13-6, 10-3 PacWest) won its second consecutive game on the current Bay Area road swing while defending its undefeated record against the Urban Knights (4-14, 2-10), now 12-0 all-time.
 
Robbins scored 19 of his points in the first half and finished 11 of 14 from the floor. He and fellow senior DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) each were a perfect 7 of 7 from the foul line. Thompson had 13 points and Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) added 12 points. Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) paced the Storm with a game-high seven rebounds.
 
After being out-rebounded by seven in the first half, Dixie State dominated the glass in the second half to win the overall battle, 32-27. The Storm outscored the host Knights by a 40-14 margin in the paint.
 
Alexis Moore scored 21 points off the bench for ART U, the only Knight to reach double figures. Academy of Art scored 23 points off 22 DSU turnovers overall and capitalized on mistakes to build a 23-16 lead with 7:36 remaining in the first half. Dixie State responded with a 19-9 spurt to close the half with the lead, 35-32.
 
The Storm extended the lead to 13 points early in the second half after outpacing ART U 12-2 over a three-minute span.
 
Academy of Art reduced the DSU advantage to seven points at the 12:02 mark, before the Red Storm answered with a critical seven-point string to build the lead up to 17. Dixie State's lead never fell to fewer than 11 in the game's final eight minutes
 
Saturday night's road victory was the most convincing over the past three years for Dixie State against the Knights. The teams played to identical 82-80 final scores in both 2013 and 2014.
 
Dixie State tries to close out its first undefeated road trip at Holy Names on Monday, Feb. 2. Game time from Tobin Gymnasium in Oakland, Calif., is 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.