Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) and Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) each scored 27 points to lead Dixie State's men's basketball team to a thrilling 81-80 double overtime victory at #20 Concordia University Saturday night in Irvine, Calif.

In a game that featured 15 total ties and 21 lead changes, Dixie State (6-6/3-3 PacWest) turned a 32-31 halftime lead into a commanding 60-53 advantage with 5:33 remaining in regulation. However the Eagles (11-3/4-2 PacWest), who held a three-point edge midway through the stanza, chipped away at the deficit and held the Storm to just one free throw over the final five-plus of the frame, eventually pulling even at 61-61 after a JT Roach 3-pointer with 1:15 on the clock.

Dixie State did not attempt a shot and turned the ball over twice in its final two possessions of regulation, while the Storm defense contested a pair of Eagle shot attempts in the waning moments to force the first overtime period.

In the first OT period, the Storm jumped out to a quick 64-61 lead on a Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) trey, but the Eagles answered with consecutive lay-ups from Geoff Gerlach and Stephen Grosey to reclaim the lead at 65-64. Ogden Jr. and Hill would return the favor with lay-ins on DSU's next two possessions to give the Storm back the advantage at 68-65 with just under three minutes left in the extra session.

Grosey connected for a pair of baskets to push CUI back in front at 69-68 with 1:18 on the clock, but the Storm wrestled the lead back at 70-69 after two Ogden Jr. free throws with 68 seconds to go.

After Concordia split a pair of free throws to tie the score at 70, Sawyer had a great look at a 3-point dagger with 33 seconds left, but the shot did not go down. Concordia cleared the rebound and played for the final shot, but Justin Davis could not convert and the game advanced to a second overtime period.

Dixie State never trailed in the second OT frame as Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) and Ogden Jr. both scored with the first minute of the stanza to give DSU a 74-70 lead. Grosey got the Eagles to within a point at 74-73 after converting a conventional 3-point play, but the Storm answered with five-straight points, all from the foul line, to push the lead to 79-73 with 1:09 to play.

Trailing 81-78 after two Davis free throws with 35 ticks on the clock, the Eagles forced a Storm turnover, and Case Bruton cashed in the miscue as he was fouled while connecting on a jumper and he went to the line to with a chance to pull Concordia even with 23 second left.

Bruton missed the free throw, but the Storm could not corral the rebound and the Eagles retained possession with a chance to win the game. Bruton put up a shot with three seconds left, but the ball did not go down and Hill secured the defensive rebound and the Dixie State victory.

"This is a big win on the road for us," Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "It was a gutty effort by our guys. We're going to enjoy this and get ready to play next week. We've got to learn from this and realize that if we play like this, we can play with anyone."

Ogden Jr. hit 10-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the line in scoring his career-high 27 points, and he also pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to record his team-leading fifth double-double of the year. Meanwhile, Hill's 27 points was one point off of his career-high as he connected on 7-of-11 of his field goal attempts and was 13-of-21 from the line, both of which were career-highs from the charity stripe. Hill also had six boards, four assists and two steals. Sawyer ended the night with 10 points before fouling out and Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) chipped in eight points with eight rebounds off the bench.

Dixie State shot 45.6 percent from the floor (26-of-57), including a combined 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half and the two overtime periods. DSU also hit on 27-of-38 (.711) from the foul line and held a decisive 50-35 rebounding edge.

Concordia finished 29-of-74 (.392) from the field, which included a cool 4-of-26 (.154) from the perimeter. Davis led three Eagles in double figures with 19 points off the bench, while Grosey had 18 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out.

Dixie State returns home for a pair of PacWest games next week beginning with a match-up against Notre Dame de Namur Thursday night, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m., in the Burns Arena.

NOTES: Saturday's game was just the 17^th overtime game in Dixie State's near 10 years of NCAA Division II competition ... prior to tonight, DSU had only played in two double-overtime games in its four-year era, both of which came in consecutive PacWest games at BYU-Hawai'i (W, 99-96 – 2/26/11) and at Hawai'i Pacific (L, 88-93 – 2/28/11) during the 2010-11 season.