Dixie State men's hoop team captures 2011-12 PacWest title, berth in NCAA II West - Mar 4, 2012
Dixie State men's hoop team captures 2011-12 PacWest title, berth in NCAA II West Regional
Dixie State College and BYU-Hawaii provided 45 minutes of thrilling and physical basketball Wednesday night (Feb. 22) that epitomized the best of Pacific West Conference action. The Red Storm defeated the visiting Seasiders 77-73 in overtime to secure the outright league title and a berth in the NCAA II National Championship Tournmanet in front of a record 4,368 fans inside the Burns Arena. Griffon Jones scored a team-high 15 points, 13 coming after the intermission, to lead Dixie State (20-4, 15-1 PWC). Solomon Jensen recorded his first career double-double - 12 points and 13 rebounds - and Dalton Groskreutz chipped in 13 points off the bench. DSC will represent the Pacific West for the third consecutive year in the Division II NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Seasiders (14-10, 11-4 PWC) took control of a low-scoring first half. Jet Chang reeled off the final 12 points of the half for BYUH, outscoring Dixie State 12-7 in the process for a 30-25 advantage at the half. As many times throughout the season, DSC sprinted quickly out of the gate in the second half, erasing the BYUH advantage to tie the game at 33-33. Every DSC run midway through the period was matched or exceeded by the Seasiders. With a 54-49 advantage, Dixie State saw Junior Ale connect on a trio of three-pointers in an 8-0 starting run, culminating in BYUH enjoying a 62-56 lead with 2:27 remaining. Dixie State bounced off the mat and strung together eight consecutive points. Jensen drained an open three-ball causing an eruption from the Red Storm faithful. A Maurice Cole free throw put the lead at 64-62 with 5.8 seconds. Chang sped down the sideline, cut toward the baseline and connected with an equalizing lay-in with 0.2 on the clock. In overtime, Brady Hurst hit a pair of opening free throws. Jones connected on one-of-two charity shots before McKay Massey drained a triple. Chang cut the DSC advantage down to a singular point three times as the clubs traded buckets. Bracken Funk tied the extra session at 73-73 with 1:26 on a baseline jumper. On the ensuing possession, Jensen missed a lay-up and Chang appeared to clear the rebound. The ball was tipped out of Chang's hand and caused a mad dash on the floor. Massey ended up with a steal and set up a critical DSC chance. After a called timeout, Massey found Jensen on the weakside for an open lay-in. Chang split the defense on the subsequent trip, but missed a left-handed lay-in. Landon Clegg corralled the rebound and was fouled. Clegg calmly hit two free throws to put the game out of reach with eight seconds left. Chang netted a game-high 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the floor. Ale drained five from distance en route to 20 points. BYUH shot 41.4 percent from the floor. The Red Storm dominated the battle of the boards 48-36, including 23 offensive rebounds. Wednesday's game was the first contest this season in which the Storm shot under 40 percent and claimed victory (22-66, 39.4 percent). Dixie State closes out its home schedule on Saturday against Chaminade. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. inside the Burns Arena. Prior to the game, DSC will honor the three members of the 2012 senior class - Maurice Cole, Solomon Jensen and Griffon Jones.
Player of the Year:Tsung-Hsien Chang (6'4''-G-88) of BYU-Hawaii Co-Freshman of the Year:Lee Bailey (6'0''-PG) of Chaminade Co-Freshman of the Year:Jerome Garrison (6'3''-G) of Grand Canyon Newcomer of the Year:Luke Evans (6'8''-C-91) of Cal.Baptist Coach of the Year:Jon Judkins of Dixie St.
Judkins
