HONOLULU – Scoring runs were no surprise late Tuesday night at McCabe Gym, but despite an eight minute without a field goal did not keep Dixie State from outlasting Chaminade, 86-83, in Pacific West Conference play.
Junior forward Mark Ogden Jr.netted a career-high 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the floor and 6 of 7 performance from the free-throw line. Junior guard Mason Sawyer added 10 of his 18 points after halftime. Senior guard DeQuan Thompson added 14 points and junior guard Robbie Nielson sank three 3-pointers en route to 13 points.
Facing a tough team after a daunting loss three nights ago, the Red Storm (8-5, 5-2 PacWest) fell down 9-0 to the Silverswords (4-7, 1-4 PacWest) in the opening three minutes – leading a lot of fans to feel like they were seeing déjà vu on the court. Thompson paired two charity shots and a triple for a 5-0 personal spurt.
The Swords bumped the lead back up to 13 points before the Storm fought back for a 13-0 run over 4:54 near the midpoint of the half. Freshman forward Zac Hunter sparked the rally with a crisp jumper. Three free throws preceded an Ogden and-1 off the glass. Neilson nailed a 3-ball from the wing and Ogden closed the streak with a jump shot to tie the game at 24-24.
Chaminade let shots fly from distance over the next five minutes and connected on five to reestablish a 13-point cushion, 44-31. Sawyer’s triple with 40 seconds left in the half gave the Silverswords a 48-40 lead at the break.
The opening five minutes turned the tide of the game for Dixie State. The Storm connected on nine of their first 11 shots in the second half to erase the halftime deficit and take their first lead on a Thompson jumper with 14 minutes left in the game. Chaminade grabbed the lead back on two occasions, but never held a margin higher than three points.
At the 10:01 mark, Hunter cashed in a bucket of the glass to give Dixie State a 72-69 lead. Over the next 8:06, the Storm would go 1 of 8 from the floor. Against all common basketball logic, the lack of field goals did not hurt DSU since they would go 9 of 10 from the line during the stretch to build a nine-point lead at the best and lead by two, 81-79, before Thompson ended the drought with a jump shot.
Free throws from Ogden and Sawyer down the stretch sealed the deal. Dixie State avoided a last second attempt after CUH missed a free throw and could not get off a deep shot in the final second.
GAME NOTES: Dixie State has won five straight games against Chaminade and now lead the overall series, 13-4 … The win was also the fifth straight win over Chaminade on their home court … Thursday’s game was the first this season in which DSU trailed at the half and ended up winning the game … Dixie State has not lost two games in a row this year, going 5-0 in games after a loss … The Strom surrender 11 3-pointers, tying the highest allowed in a game this season (at California Baptist).
Stats: DSU 86, CUH 83
Women’s basketball
DSU 75, CUH 68
Taylor Mann and Leslie Tademy each posted 16 points and Dixie State beat Chaminade 75-68 on Tuesday night in Hawaii.
Mann finished with her third double-double in four games with 13 rebounds to go along with her 16 points. Tademy’s 16 came on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. She added three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
“It was a great team win,” head coach Jenny Thigpin said. “We were able to fight back after a slow start and stay together as a unit. Free throws played a big part down the stretch and we were able to knock them down when we needed too.”
Taylor Maynes just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards while picking up three steals and two assists. Kaylah Miller was also in double-figures with 12 points.
Stats: DSU 75, CUH 68
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