Dixie State (19-6, 16-3 PacWest) closes its regular season schedule with a Pacific West Conference battle with the Sea Lions of Point Loma (20-6, 12-6 PacWest) on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Burns Arena in St. George. The Storm has won eight straight and 12 of its last 13 games. Dixie State is currently tied for first place in the PacWest standings with Azusa Pacific – both teams have a chance to share the conference title with wins on Saturday. Last week, DSU closed out a homestand Monday with a tough seven-point victory (57-50) over Hawai'i Pacific before winning a high-scoring affair at Fresno Pacific on Saturday, 94-80.
LISTEN AND WATCH THE STORM LIVE
DSU's game this Saturday at home will be broadcast live on the Storm Basketball Network on ESPN 106.1 FM, the flagship home of Dixie State Athletics, and online through SouthernUtahLive.com's free audio feed. The pregame show kicks off at 15 minutes prior to tip off. John Potter (@PotterSez) and Devin Dixon (@DevDixon) will have the call from press row. Fans can also follow free live statistics by clicking the link on the DSU MBB schedule page. SouthernUtahLive.com provides pay-per-view video coverage with a multi-camera, high definition production accompanied by the Storm Broadcast Network audio feed.
WHAT'S NEXT
Dixie State will play in the 2015 PacWest Men's Basketball Championship, being held on March 5-7 at the CU Arena on the campus of league newcomer Concordia University Irvine. Five of the six teams on the men's side – Dixie State, Azusa Pacific, California Baptist, BYU-Hawaii, Point Loma – have been determined, but the sixth team and the seeding are in the balance until this week's games are played. DSU currently holds the top seed and would earn a bye into the semifinals on Friday. A win over PLNU would solidify the No. 1-seed, but a loss may place the Storm into a position to play three games in three days for the PacWest title and automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division II West Regional. Single-day and all-tournament passes are being sold online throught the PacWest home page and DixieAthletics.com.
SAWYER NABS STORM'S SECOND STRAIGHT DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) averaged 4.0 steals per game as the Red Storm ran their winning streak to eight games. He had three steals and three assists against Hawai'i Pacific. He then had a season-high five steals, 14 points and seven assists against Fresno Pacific. Sawyer is tied for seventh in the PacWest in steals (1.7 spg). Sawyer previously won a PacWest Player of the Week award on Jan. 19. This is the second consecutive week a Red Storm player has won the Defender of the Week (Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow)).
PACWEST CONTINUES TO DOMINATE THE REGION
Dixie State moved up one spot to No. 5 in the NCAA West Regional rankings released Wednesday. After a 2-0 week, the Red Storm moved ahead of Cal Poly Pomona (who fell two spots to No. 7). The PacWest holds the top three spots with Azusa Pacific at No. 1, California Baptist at No. 2 and BYU-Hawaii at No. 3 while No. 8 Point Loma makes it five league teams in the Top 8. The GNAC regular season champions of Western Oregon are at No. 4. Chico State, the defending West Region Champions, sit at No. 6. Just outside the playoff threshold is Humboldt State at No. 9 and Seattle Pacific at No. 10. One more regional ranking will be release on March 4 before the 64-team field for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship is revealed on March 8.
#THEROADTOIRVINE – STILL A LOT TO DETERMINE
Five teams have clinched tournament spots, but the complete picture of the PacWest Men's Basketball Championships is still murky at best. Regardless of the results of this week's games, Dixie State and Azusa Pacific have locked up the quarterfinal byes and will advance to the semifinals. The Red Storm locks up the No. 1-seed with a win over Point Loma or an APU loss to Fresno Pacific. The Cougars need a win and a DSU loss to take the top seed. The regular season PacWest title could be split three ways if Dixie State and APU were both to lose and California Baptist wins twice this week. BYU-Hawaii could be as high as the third seed or as low as 5th. Point Loma will either be fourth, with some help, or fifth. Hawai'i Pacific has the best chance to claim the sixth seed after defeating Dominican at home last Thursday. A win for the Sharks over Holy Names punches their ticket to Irvine. Dominican will need two wins in Hawaii and a HPU loss to claim the final playoff spot.
THOMPSON FEATURED IN LOCAL MEDIA
"Nothing is impossible: You have your dream, so go and chase it. Those are the words Dixie State University basketball player DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) has held onto throughout his life, rising from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs." Those words began a great feature article on the DSU senior guard in a Sunday feature in The Spectrum, written by Justin Giles.
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. Senior forward/center Zach Robbins (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 184-90 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.
