Four Storm players scored in double figures as Dixie State tallied a season-high 97 points en route to convincing 97-79 Pacific West Conference victory at Hawai'i Hilo Thursday night on the Big Island.

Dixie State (8-7/5-4 PacWest) led virtually wire-to-wire and took control of the game four minutes in as the Storm used a 19-8 run, including eight-straight points to start the run, to turn a slim 11-10 lead into a 30-18 bulge with 6:30 to play in the opening frame.

However the Vulcans (3-10/3-6 PacWest) stayed within striking distance with clutch outside shooting to keep Dixie State from extending its lead any further. UHH did manage to cut the deficit down to eight after a Parker Farris 3-pointer, but DSU maintained its advantage and took a 42-31 lead into the locker room.

Dixie State slowly started pulling away in the second half as junior forward Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) scored nine of the Storm's first 15 points of the stanza as DSU led 57-45 with 14:09 to play. After a Hilo bucket cut the deficit to 10, sophomore guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) hit a jumper, which sparked a quick 8-0 spurt and gave the Storm its biggest lead of the game at 65-49.

Senior forward Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) continued the Storm's run with six-straight points as Dixie State outscored Hilo 16-2 over a span of 4:20 to extend the lead to 73-49 with 9:49 remaining and DSU never looked back. Fuller scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the second half as he hit on 10-of-12 from the floor, while Ogden Jr. just missed his sixth double-double of the year with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting with a game-high nine rebounds.

Meanwhile sophomore forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) had a solid night off the bench as he tallied 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with six rebounds and two assists, while fellow sophomore Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) chipped in 14 points with four assists.

Bolstered by its front-court shooting, Dixie State shot a season-best 54.3 percent (38-of-70) from the floor, which included a .709 clip (22-of-31) combined by Fuller, Ogden Jr. and Hunter. DSU also shot a blistering 61.1 percent (22-of-36) in the second half and outrebounded the Vulcans 44-34 for the game, including a 14-10 edge on the offensive glass.

DSU's 38 field goals was also a season-high, which led to a season-best 19 total assists, including a game-high six for senior guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS). The Storm also forced 16 UHH turnovers resulting in five steals, one of which was recorded by senior Robbie Nielson (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS), who became just the third player in DSU's Division II era to reach 100 career steals with the theft.

"The effort was there and we played hard," DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "[Hawai'i Hilo] is a tough team, they shoot so many threes and they did some things that we weren't ready for, but our guys did a great job in adjusting and we did a great job on the boards.

"It was a good win, we're going to enjoy this one tonight but we play again in two days," Judkins added. "Our goal is to get three [wins in Hawai'i] here, we got one and we got two more to go."

Hawai'i Hilo guard Jordan Russell led four Vulcans in double figures with a game-high 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting with seven 3-pointers. UHH shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64), with 41 of its 62 total shot attempts coming behind the arc (14-of-41, .341). 

Dixie State continues its three-game Hawaiian road swing this Saturday at Chaminade, before closing the trip at BYU-Hawai'i on Tuesday, Jan. 26.