ST. GEORGE, Utah – Senior guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) scored 21 points leading three Dixie State players in double figures, and the Red Storm held visiting Notre Dame de Namur to 20 points in the second half in a 71-50 win Saturday night to move into a second place tie in the Pacific West Conference.  
 
Dixie State (15-6, 12-3) began the night one game behind Azusa Pacific before the Cougars suffered a loss at fourth place California Baptist, 87-80.
 
The Storm's fourth consecutive victory came from once again shooting above 50 percent from the floor (25-48, 52 percent) and a sizzling 61.5 percent from behind the arc (8-13).
 
Thompson had three triples in a 9 of 14 overall night from the floor. Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) battled for 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) provided the energy most of the night and notched his first game scoring in double figures (11 points) since a Jan. 6 win at Chaminade. He added four steals and drew a two NDNU offensive fouls. Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) added nine points and a game-high seven assists.
 
Sophomore guard Jalen Young scored 19 points for Notre Dame de Namur (4-17, 3-12 PacWest), which lost its fourth in a row.
 
Even through most of the first half played even, NDNU built a 21-15 lead at the 9:44 mark. Dixie State responded with a closing 18-9 spurt, with six points each from Nielson and Thompson, to take a 33-30 lead at halftime.
 
Stingy DSU defense and 3-point buckets from Sawyer and Thompson sparked an opening 8-0 run in the second half for an 11-point cushion. Young would counter with six points in a 10-1 NDNU rally to slice the advantage down to two points.
 
Over the final 12:35 of the game, Storm coach Jon Judkins said he saw some of the best defense his team has played all year. The Argonauts hit 3 of 11 shots in the span and were held to 10 points while Dixie State could not miss from distance. A 6 of 6 performance from 3-land in the final 20 minutes helped Dixie State run away with the game.
 
"We challenged them to keep up the defensive intensity," Judkins said. "(NDNU is) a team that runs down the shot clock each possession exploits any weaknesses. We did a good job forcing them into tough shots and rebounding their misses."
 
Robbins added an addition defensive weapon, swatting away three shots to add to his league leading total of 41.
 
Ten DSU players scored in the contest. Dixie State had 19 assists on 25 field goals and finished with 10 turnovers, four less than its season average.
 
Dixie State opens a stretch of three games over six days on Thursday, Feb. 12, against the Silverswords of Chaminade University. Tip is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. inside the Burns Arena. The Storm defeated Chaminade, 86-83, on Jan. 6 in Honolulu behind a season-high 22 points from Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon)