OPENING TIP: Dixie State (11-8/8-5 PacWest) wraps up its homestand with a three-game in five-day stretch, beginning with a Pacific West Conference match-up against Academy of Art (5-15/3-11 PacWest) this Thursday, Feb. 11. DSU will also play host to Fresno Pacific (11-10/7-8 PacWest) on Saturday, Feb. 13, followed the homestand finale vs. Holy Names (4-20/3-13) on President's Day Monday, Feb. 15. All three games will tip at 7:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State won for the seventh time in its last 10 games overall last Saturday night as the Storm pulled out a hard-fought 94-88 overtime victory over California Baptist in the Burns Arena. The win moved DSU to 8-5 in conference play, which is good for fifth-place overall and the #4-seed - at the moment - for the upcoming PacWest tournament with three weeks left in the regular season.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action, along with Devin Dixon providing color analysis for all home games. All DSU home games are also televised live on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22) with a simulcast feed from ESPN Radio, and tape-delay rebroadcasts air throughout the following week. In addition, live-streaming audio and video (home games only - fee required) are available on the internet at www.southernutahlive.com.

THE SERIES: Dixie State enters Thursday's game vs. AAU looking to remain perfect against the Urban Knights all-time as the Storm has won all 12 of the previous meetings between the two teams, including a 93-70 win the last time these two teams met up in the Burns Arena on New Year's Eve of 2014. DSU is 5-1 all-time vs. FPU, having won five-straight overall (and all three meetings at home) after the Sunbirds claimed the first-ever meeting in Fresno during the 2012-13 season (82-80; 12/8/12). Dixie State is also undefeated at 4-0 in its brief series against Holy Names, including a 95-60 win last year in the Burns Arena (12/20/14).

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 479-227 career record) is his 11th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 195-99 overall record, including a 175-88 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 115-36 record in PacWest play. Last season Judkins led the Storm to a 20-8 record and the program's fifth Pacific West title in six years with a 17-3 league mark. In addition, he guided DSU to its sixth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, Judkins served as head coach at Snow College for 12 season and posted a 284-128 overall record. He led the Badgers to a pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 1999 and 2000, which earned him SWAC Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one season at Dixie State before transferring to Utah State, where he became the first (and only) Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Judkins is joined on the DSU bench by Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), who is in his third season as assistant coach, and Kevin Williamson (University of Great Falls, 2007) who is in his first season on the Storm sideline.

JUDKINS INCHES CLOSER TO MORE CAREER MILESTONES: As each game passes, Head Coach Jon Judkins inches closer to a pair of career coaching milestones. He enters Thursday's game vs. AAU five wins shy of 200 career victories at Dixie State. He is also six games away from reaching 300 career games on the DSU bench, a feat he should reach in the Storm's road finale at Fresno Pacific this Feb. 24.

Coach Judkins was on the bench for his 700th-career game as a head coach in DSU's win over Notre Dame de Namur back on Jan. 14. Judkins has now officially coached in 294 games in his DSU tenure, and in another 412 games in his 12 seasons at Snow College.

STORM PICKED THIRD IN THE PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish third in the 2015-16 Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll. California Baptist received 13 first place votes and 195 total points in being tabbed as the PacWest preseason favorite. BYU-Hawai'i picked up one first place vote to narrowly edge Dixie State for second, 169-166, followed by Azusa Pacific (146) in fourth, Chaminade (130) in fifth, Hawai'i Pacific in sixth (123) and Point Loma (120) in seventh to round out the top-half of the poll.

Dixie State senior point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) was named to the PacWest Preseason all-Conference team, while CBU senior guard Gelaun Wheelwright was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.

THE "ROAD TO IRVINE": Parody is the name of the game as the road to the 2016 PacWest Tournament on the men's side winds through the final month of the regular season. Concordia, which is ineligible for postseason play, sits atop the league standings at 14-2, three full games ahead of second-place Azusa Pacific (10-4). Hawai'i Pacific currently stands third at 10-5, followed by California Baptist in fourth at 9-5 and DSU in fifth at 8-5. Behind DSU is a log-jam with five more teams within two games of DSU, including Dominican (8-6), BYU-Hawai'i (9-7), Chaminade (8-7), FPU (7-8) and Point Loma (6-7), all battling for a postseason tournament berth.

The top-six teams will advance to the PacWest Tournament, which will be held this March 3-5, in Irvine, Calif. The winner of the tourney will earn the PacWest's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regionals, which will be held March 11-14 (site TBD).

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to an 88-21 (.807) record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 5-3 mark this season with four home games remaining on the schedule. The Storm has posted six 10-plus win seasons over that span, including a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and an 11-1 mark last season.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State is 88-68 (.564) away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 6-5 mark in 2015-16 with three more road tests remaining. Overall, the Storm has played to a 68-53 record (.562) in true road games, and a 20-15 mark (.571) in neutral site games over Judkins' tenure. DSU has won eight or more games away from home in six-straight seasons, and in seven of its nine previous campaigns, including a program-best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.

After taking two of three on last month's Hawaiian road trip, Dixie State owns a 50-26 (.658) road record in its eight-plus seasons of league membership. The Storm has posted a winning conference road mark in six-straight seasons and has reached the seven-win plateau in four of their last five campaigns overall.

DEFENSE (CLAP CLAP) DEFENSE: Dixie State recorded one of its most dominant defensive efforts in the program's NCAA Division II history in the Storm's win over Notre Dame de Namur Jan. 14. DSU held the Argonauts to just 48 total points (W, 70-48), which is tied for the fifth-lowest opponent point total in school history (48 vs. Hawai'i Hilo - 3/4/10). The all-time record for fewest points allowed in a game is 40 set in an 84-40 win vs. Dominican (2/10/11) during the 2010-11 season.

What is more impressive about the Storm defense in the win is that for the just the third time in the program's D-II history, Dixie State held an opponent without a double-digit scorer. NDNU did have 11 total players score at least one point in the contest, but no Argonaut scored more than eight points.

The first time DSU accomplished that feat was in its first season of four-year competition at home vs. Texas A&M International (W, 67-51) on Dec, 18, 2006. The Storm also did it on the road in a win at Grand Canyon during the 2008-09 season (W, 68-59; 1/22/09).

FREE BASKETBALL: Saturday's overtime win vs. California Baptist marked just the second time in Dixie State's near 10 years of Division II competition that the Storm had four games go extra time in a season. DSU has played to a 3-1 record in OT this season, including a 103-100 barn-burner at Chaminade (1/23), and a 76-72 home loss to Point Loma (1/18).

Saturday's game also marked the 20th overtime game in DSU's NCAA era (264 games). The Storm has posted a 12-8 mark all-time in overtime games, having won eight of their last nine OT games overall dating back to the 2013-14 season, when DSU went 4-0 in overtime affairs. Earlier this year, DSU needed double-overtime to knock off PacWest leader Concordia in Irvine, 81-80. Previous to that win, DSU had played in only two double-overtime games in its four-year era, both of which also came on the road and in consecutive PacWest games at BYU-H (W, 99-96 – 2/26/11) and at HPU (L, 88-93 – 2/28/11) during the 2010-11 season.

FROM WAY DOWN TOWN....BANG!: Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 45-straight games, including all 19 games this season, and in 168 of its last 169 games overall. In fact in DSU's Division II era, the Storm has recorded at least one 3-pointer in 262 of the program's 265 games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

Last season the Storm saw its program-best 127-game streak halted at home vs. Western Oregon (11/25/14) in the second game of the year. That streak encompassed four full seasons and the final 13 games of the 2009-10 campaign. The other two times DSU failed to connect from the perimeter happened on the road at Academy of Art (1/16/10), and at Notre Dame de Namur (2/2/08) during the program's first year of PacWest play.

Dixie State has also reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 12 times, including a season-high 10 treys at Chaminade (1/23), and a school-record 13 3-pointers at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008. Prior to last Saturday, the last time Dixie State hit for 10 or more 3-pointers was at home vs. BYU-Hawai'i on Feb. 11, 2014.

ROLLING DOUBLES: Senior forward Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) just missed recording his seventh double-double of the year last Saturday as he finished with eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds in the win over CBU. He notched his team-leading sixth double-double of the year with game-highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds in the win vs. HPU to start the homestand Jan. 30. Ogden Jr. connected on 12-of-17 from the floor, while five of his 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass, which led to him scoring eight second-chance points. His 26 points was one off of his career-high of 27 points, which he scored in the 2OT win at Concordia (1/9), to go with a game-high 15 rebounds. Over his last 10 games, Ogden Jr. has averaged nearly a double-double at 14.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per outing.

Ogden Jr. has scored in double figures in 12 of 19 games this season and has scored 20 or more points four times, including a 21-point effort in the win at Hilo (1/21). In addition, he has recorded 10 or more rebounds in nine games overall, including a career-high 17 boards in the win at Point Loma (12/5). Ogden Jr.'s 15 boards vs. CBU also vaulted him into third-place on DSU's career rebounding list (368), while his 7.8 career rpg average is currently third-best all-time in DSU's NCAA era. In addition, his 9.4 RPG this season is currently the third-highest single-season average in school history.

ROLLING DOUBLES x 2: In all three Storm players have posted double-doubles, with junior forward Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) recording the feat with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Point Loma (12/5), and senior guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) tallied 10 points and a career-high tying 10 assists vs. APU (12/19).

FULLER FILLING IT UP: Speaking of Fuller, poured in a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 8-of-11 from the line in the win over CBU last Saturday. Fuller scored 15 first-half points and six points in OT, including a big 3-pointer from the top of the key with 34 seconds to play to give DSU the lead for good.

Fuller also had a great trip to the Hawaiian Islands as he averaged 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds and shot a whopping 72.9% (27-of-37) from the floor in DSU's three-game road swing. Fuller tallied 22 points in the win at Hilo (1/21), followed by a 16-point, six-rebound effort in DSU's dramatic 103-100 overtime win at Chaminade (1/23). Then at BYU-H (1/26), Fuller scored 17 of his then- career-high tying 25 points in the second half and pulled down a game-high eight boards to help lead a late Storm rally. Fuller has scored in double figures in 11 of 19 games, including 25 points vs. APU (12/19), and he is third on the club in scoring at 12.4 ppg.

NOT OVER THE HILL: Not to be outdone, sophomore guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) has scored in double figures in a team-high 16 of 19 games this season and has tallied 20 or more points a team-best five times, including 21 points at Chaminade (1/23) and a game-high tying (with Ogden Jr.) 27 points at Concordia (1/9). Hill, who also scored a career-best 28 points in DSU's win at MSU Billings back in November, is the team's top scorer at 16.3 ppg, which is currently the third-highest season PPG average in school history. Hill has led or co-led the team in scoring in seven of 19 games this year, including an 18-point effort on 6-of-9 shooting in the win over NDNU (1/14). He followed that up with 19 points, including 11-of-13 from the line, in the loss to PLNU (1/18). Hill also averaged nearly 18 points on DSU's Hawaiian road swing, including a 17-point effort at BYU-H (1/26).

SIMPLY SIMISTER: After missing DSU's last two games of the 2015 calendar year (at PLNU/vs. APU) due to injury, sophomore guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) has averaged 12.3 ppg off the bench in his last 10 games since his return to action, including 13 points in the win vs. CBU last Saturday, and a career-high 24 points with a career-best five 3-pointers in the OT win at Chaminade (1/23).

Simister scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and the overtime session, but none of his points were bigger than the off-balanced 3-pointer he hit with two seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 89-89 to force the extra frame. He hit on 6-of-10 of his shots, 5-of-8 from downtown, and was 7-of-8 from the line. His 24 points eclipsed his previous career-high of 23 set earlier this season in a win vs. Alaska (11/27). Simister has scored in double figures in nine of 17 games and he is fourth on the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg.

TODAY'S MASON SAWYER MEAN MEAN SHOOTER: Senior guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) is inching toward second place on DSU's career 3-pointers made list after going 3-of-5 from the perimeter as part of a season-high 21-point night in the win vs. CBU last Saturday. Sawyer (116 3FGM) now stands 15 treys shy of passing former DSU stand-out DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) (130; 2011-15) for second on the all-time list.

Sawyer enters the final month of the regular season second all-time in career 3FG attempts (305), seventh in career 3FG% (.380) and career FG attempts (616) and eighth in career FG made (246). Sawyer is also seventh on DSU's career scoring list with 769 points and he is third in career assists (249), sixth in steals (54) and ninth in career FT% (.742).

TEAM NOTES: Senior Robbie Nielson (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) tallied 10 points in the win over CBU, his third 10-plus point game of the year ... R. Nielson, who is third all-time in school history in steals (104), is one blocked shot away from moving into 10th-place all-time on DSU's career blocks list ... sophomore Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) hit his first career 3-pointer in the first half vs. CBU as part of a 3-for-4 shooting night ... Ogden Jr. tied a career-high with three blocks and dished out a career-best   five assists in the win vs. CBU.

UP NEXT: Dixie State heads back out on the road for the final time this regular season with another three-game in five-day stretch next week in northern California, beginning with a return game at Holy Names on Saturday, Feb. 20. DSU will then travel across the Golden Gate Bridge to play at Dominican on Monday, Feb. 22, before closing out the road trip at Fresno Pacific on Wednesday, Feb. 24.