The Red Storm made the most of their final home game of 2011, and their first conference game of the season on Monday night at Burns Arena.
After falling behind with an early 9-2 deficit to the Argonauts of Notre Dame de Namur, Dixie State eventually found their range. The Red Storm mounted an early come back propelled by senior Griffin Jones.
Jones led the Red Storm with 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, including one which he sent the ball flying a few rows into the stands and electrifying the nearly 2,500 in attendance.
At halftime the Dixie State Student Athlete Advisory Council received the PacWest Community Engagement award.
The Red Storm started the second half on fire and didn’t let up. Dixie shot 13-of-18 from the field, and 6-of-7 from three point range in the second half. A monsterous dunk by Jones electrified the crowd, and propelled Dixie State to the 72-63 win.
De’Quan Thompson came up huge off the bench. Thompson lifted Dixie with 13 points in 16 minutes, including going 3-of-3 from downtown.
Defensively the Red Storm out-played the Argonauts. Dixie State had seven blocks and five steals. However, Dixie had some of their own sloppy moments, turning the ball over 20 times.
This was Dixie State’s last game at Burns Arena until January 13. The Red Storm will head to La Jolla, Calif., to take on UC-San Diego this weekend. They will then play in the Grand Canyon Tournament before taking a break over the holidays. PacWest play will resume on January 3 when they head to San Francisco to take on the Academy of Art.
The win brings Dixie State to 4-2 overall, and 1-0 in PacWest play.
