ST. GEORGE – Junior Trevor Hill led four Red Storm players in double figures with 24 points, while senior Mark Ogden Jr. posted his seventh double-double of the year with 22 points and 16 rebounds, as Dixie State’s men’s basketball team rolled past Academy of Art, 98-68, in Pacific West Conference play Thursday night in the Burns Arena.
Dixie State (12-8/9-5 PacWest) shot out of the gate, hitting on eight of its first nine attempts to bolt to a 19-10 lead. AAU would trim the lead to four at 21-17, but the Storm answered with a 13-3 run to lead 34-23 after an Ogden Jr. layup and free throw.
The Storm kept the momentum rolling as DSU would outscore the Urban Knights 28-13 over a span of nearly nine minutes, with Hill and Ogden Jr. combining for 22 of those points along the way, as Dixie State pushed the advantage to as many as 19 points at 49-30 with 3:49 to play until intermission.
Academy of Art (5-16/3-12 PacWest) would make a game of it in the later stages of the stanza as the Urban Knights closed the half with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 51-40 heading into the locker room.
However, 11 points would be as close as AAU would get as the Storm methodically began to pull away in the second half, led by 7 points from Hill and 8 more by junior Josh Fuller, as part of an 18-11 start to the frame, which extended the lead 20 points at 69-49 with 12:34 to go. Then out of the under-12 minute media timeout, DSU rattled off 6 straight points in a 13-3 spurt to push the lead to 84-54 after a Daylor Youngblood trey. The Storm never looked back.
Hill, Ogden Jr. and Fuller (12 points) combined to shoot 20-of-24 (.833) from the field as the trio accounted for 58 of DSU’s 98 points. In addition to his double-double, Ogden Jr. had a one of his best overall games in a Storm uniform as he hit his first eight shots and finished 8 for 9 overall to go with a career-high six assists, two blocks and a steal in just 23 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Hill went 8 of 10 from the floor with six dimes, five boards and a career-high four steals in 28 minutes.
Sophomore Brandon Simister chipped in 10 points and four assists in a starting role and senior Mason Sawyer tallied 8 points and five assists. Sawyer’s final assist of the night, which came on the Youngblood 3-pointer with 6:51 left in the game, moved him into second place on DSU’s career assist list with 254.
DSU enjoyed its best shooting night of the season as the Storm shot 63.6 percent (35-55) from the floor, which is the fourth-best single game shooting night in the school’s NCAA Division II era. DSU, which flirted with the school record as late as the midway point of the second half, shot at a 70.0 percent clip (21-of-31) in the first half, and hit on 7 of 12 (.583) from the perimeter overall.
DSU also won the battle of the boards, 38-30, and finished with a season-high 25 assists to just 10 turnovers. The lone sour note for the Storm – DSU hit on only 21-33 (.636) from the foul line.
“We had seven games left, now we have six, and our goal is to win all six. That’s what we’re focusing on, just one at a time,” DSU coach Jon Judkins said. “I’m happy with the win, but we got to get better as we go and peak at the right time. We have three games in five days, and when you have a lead like that, those guys deserve to play a little bit.”
DSU’s defense held the Urban Knights to just 19 of 54 (.352) from the floor, including a 6 for 17 (.353) result from beyond the arc. Jase Harrison led four AAU players in double figures with 21 points.
Dixie State will quickly turnaround and play host to Fresno Pacific Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Stats: DSU 98, AAU 68
Women’s basketball
AAU 95, DSU 73
For the second consecutive game, the Dixie State women’s basketball team found a way to make history despite suffering a double-digit loss.
The Storm (4-16, 4-10 PacWest) fell 95-73 to Academy of Art Thursday night at the Burns Arena, but Taylor Mann stole the show, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds to become the career rebounding leader at Dixie State. Mann’s 11 rebounds pushed her to 736 career rebounds, passing Johnna Brown (726) for the record.
ART U raced to an 8-0 lead two minutes into the game before Leslie Tademy scored on a pass from Ashlee Burge. The layup took the lid off the basket for the Storm and set DSU up for a 10-1 run later in the quarter to pull within 21-20.
The teams traded baskets in the second quarter as Mann pulled the Storm within four points at 40-36 with a little less than three minutes remaining until halftime. ART U responded with an 8-0 run to push the lead back to double digits, before Mann answered with an old fashioned 3-point play to cut the lead to 48-39 at the break.
The teams continued to go back in forth in a low-scoring third quarter that saw ART U outscore DSU 18-15. The Storm pulled within eight points at 62-54 in the period, but would get no closer.
The Urban Knights answered with a 13-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter to push the lead to 74-54 with seven minutes remaining. DSU cut the lead back under 20 points when Mann scored three consecutive layups for a personal 6-0 run, but ART U pushed lead back to 22 points to end the game.
“The team competed and put in the effort tonight,” head coach Jenny Thigpin said. “We just gave up too many second-chance points and had too many turnovers.”
Dixie State enjoyed an improved shooting night and shot 46 percent (26 of 56) from the field, 31 percent (5 of 16) from beyond the arc, and 72 percent (16-22) from the free throw line. But ART U won the rebounding battle, turning 22 offensive rebounds into 32 second-chance points. The Urban Knights forced 23 DSU turnovers and only gave up three turnovers of their own.
Mann led the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Chermayne Moore finished with 9 points and Brianna Jessop and Ashlee Burge both added 7 points.
The Storm now close out their five game home stand with games against Fresno Pacific on Saturday and Holy Names on Monday. Both games will tip off at 5 p.m.
Stats: AAU 95, DSU 73
Dixie State's Brandon Simister (22), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Quincy Mathews (42), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Mason Sawyer (12), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Trevor Hill (24), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Trevor Hill (24), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Mark Ogden Jr. (32), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Josh Fuller (40), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Josh Fuller (40), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Dub Price (30), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Dixie State's Mark Ogden Jr. (32), Dixie State University vs. Academy of Arts University, Mens Basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 11, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
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