Dixie State University basketball’s nine-game winning streak came to an end in dramatic fashion at the Pacific West Conference tournament semi-final Friday.
After reeling off those nine straight games to close out the regular season, the Storm put themselves in the drivers seat with a first-round bye in the conference tournament but were derailed by California Baptist University and PacWest Player of the Year Michael Smith.
Smith scored 33 points on 10-14 from the field and 12-13 from the charity stripe. The junior guard also added seven rebounds and five assists en route to the 90-73 Lancers’ win.
The ball game was marred by a plethora of wild foul calls and technicals that left Storm faithful agitated and confused.
Both teams were in the double-bonus with over 14 minutes left in the game, and midway through the second half, senior forward Mark Ogden Jr. was disqualified on a technical foul call after being thrown to the ground by an opposing player. Shortly after, junior center Josh Fuller also fouled out and head coach Jon Judkins received a technical while talking to his team.
CBU stole the momentum and the ball game as they completely took over after the wild sequence of events. The Lancers ended the game on a 28-11 run to pull away from the Red Storm and advance to the PacWest championship game.
DSU will await the Division II NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday at 8:30 p.m. to see if it places into the national tournament. The Storm came into the weekend with the eighth and final seed in the West Region.
