Men's Basketball 3/13/2014 6:00:00 AM John Potter, Media Relations Assistant

[PREVIEW] Tourney Time: Red Storm open NCAAs with Cal Poly Pomona

Rematch of DSU's first ever NCAA tourney opponent is set in San Bernardino

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MEDIA INFORMATION

Date

March 14-17 | 1 p.m. MT (Friday), 6 p.m. (Saturday), 8 p.m. (Monday)

Location

Coussoulis Arena - San Bernardino, Calif

Tickets

Purchase Tickets

Radio

ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM |
Dixie State All-Access

Radio Talent

John Potter (play-by-play)

DSU Audio

Dixie State All-Access

Live Stats

West Regional Tourney Page

Game Notes

Dixie State

Twitter

@DixieAthletics #DixieMBB

DIXIE STATE RED STORM

Record

21-6 / 15-5 PacWest

Ranking

RV (NABC 34th); 6th (NCAA West)

Head Coach

Jon Judkins

Career: 450-212 (20th year)

DSU Record: 166-84 (9th year)

CAL POLY POMONA BRONCOS

Record

21-6 / 19-3 CCAA

Ranking

24th (NABC); 3rd (NCAA West)

Head Coach

Greg Kamansky

Record at CPP: 291-116 (14th year)

NCAA WEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE

BACK TO THE BIG DANCE: For the fifth straight year, the Dixie State University men's basketball team will participate in the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament. Beginning Friday afternoon at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State University San Bernardino, the sixth-seeded Red Storm open quarterfinal play against the third-seeded Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. Both teams enter the game with identical 21-6 overall records. DSU went 15-5 in the Pacific West Conference regular season and lost in the quarterfinals of the PWC tournament to Hawaii Pacific. CPP finished second in the CCAA regular season with a 19-3 record and lost in the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament to Chico State. This game, tipping at noon Pacific, will mark the beginning of the 2014 NCAA Division II Tournament. The contest will air on the Red Storm Radio Network (SportsRadio 106.1 FM; DixieAthletics.com/Showcase) with John Potter calling the play-by-play. If Dixie State is successful against the Broncos, Friday's semifinal at 5 p.m. Pacific would pit the Storm against the winner of the 2/7 matchup – Seattle Pacific and Cal State Stanislaus. With two wins, DSU would enter the West Region Final at 7 p.m. Pacific on Monday.

NCAA TOURNEY HISTORY: The Red Storm are 2-4 all-time in the West Regional. In 2011, DSU won its opening two games against Chaminade and Seattle Pacific before losing to BYU-Hawaii in the Regional Final. The other three years have seen first-round exits: Cal Poly Pomona (2010), Seattle Pacific (2012) and Cal State San Bernardino (2013). There is one member of the current Storm squad that played in the 2010 tourney game against CPP – Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) was a freshman, he scored four points and had six rebounds coming off the bench. DSU lost the game 71-62, while the Broncos won five more games to win the National Championship.

ROBBINS JOINS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB: With 21 points in the PWC quarterfinals, junior forward/center Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) became the fourth member of the Dixie State 1,000-point club. Robbins joins Ryan Sanchez, Tom Whitehead and Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) in the exclusive club. Groskreutz also reached the milestone this season.

DSU IN THE RANKINGS: The Red Storm closed the regular season in the "Others receiving votes" category of the NABC Division-II National Poll. With four national votes, the Red Storm sits unofficially at No. 34 in the country.

PACWEST ALL-CONFERENCE: Dixie State men's basketball landed four players on the All-Pacific West Conference Team as announced Thursday prior to the start of the league's tournament. Junior forward Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) earned First Team honors after leading the conference in rebounding. Junior guard DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) landed a spot on the Second Team, senior forward Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) placed on the Third Team, and senior point guard Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak) received an Honorable Mention. Robbins ripped down 9.5 rebounds per game for the Red Storm while ranking 10th in the PacWest at 15.8 points per game. He made 56 percent of his shots from the field – seventh best in the league. Thompson is 12th in the PacWest at 14.4 points per game and was second best this season making 46 percent of shot from distance. Groskreutz cracked the top 20 in scoring at 13.3 points per game. He is the sixth-best free throw percentage (83%). Payne finished third in the league at 5.1 assists per contest while finishing in the top 20 in field goal percentage (50%).

LAST TIME OUT – RED STORM OUT-BATTLED BY SEA WARRIORS IN PWC QUARTERFINALS: Dixie State men's basketball was held to its lowest field goal percentage of the season in Thursday's quarterfinal matchup in the Pacific West Conference Tournament. A lack of offense and killer instinct allowed Hawaii Pacific to erase a 10-point deficit and upset the Red Storm, 71-65, at Golden Gymnasium.

The Sea Warriors advance to Friday's semifinals against Dominican. Dixie State will now await the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Sunday evening to see if their 21-6 record and résumé will be good enough for an at-large bid.

Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) led DSU with 21 points and 12 rebounds while Curtis Papenfuss (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas) added 10 off the bench.

Hawaii Pacific opened a 9-6 lead on a 3-pointer from Malte Ziegenhagen only to see the Storm string 11 straight points. Four consecutive foul shots by Robbins gave DSU it first lead. Papenfuss followed with a layup and two charity shots. A Louis Garrett (Saint George, UT/Pine View) 3-ball capped the scoring spurt.

The Sea Warriors chipped down the lead to three on two occasions. Dixie State crashed inside with Robbins and kicked outside to Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) to build a 36-29 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the DSU lead extended to 10 points on a big dunk from Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon). HPU stayed within striking distance despite the Storm's retaking a 10-point lead after Sawyer made one of two technical free throws.

Enter the HPU trio of Justin Long, Farbod Farman and Darry Jones, Jr. The two guards and center sliced through the DSU defense for lay-ins and put backs that brought them back within two points with five minutes left.

On the flip side, Dixie State, after making seven of their first eight shots, limped home to the finish connecting just four time in 32 attempts. For the game, the Red Storm were just 21-of-72 from the field.

Off a deflected pass with 4:46 left in the game, Long fired from the right wing and connected on a triple that gave HPU a lead they would never relinquish. A 6-0 run over a three-minute stretch provided the final cushion.

Long led the Sea Warriors with 21 points. Farman had a monster double double with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

THE TEAM:
THE RETURNERS:
> Landon Clegg (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak), a 6-4 combo guard/forward, is back for his senior season after missing last year rehabbing a knee injury. The Cedar Hills, Utah, native was the 2007 PacWest Freshman of the Year.
> Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon), the 6-6 forward from Santa Clara, Utah, returns for his senior season after having a great junior campaign. He averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the season while shooting 80-percent from the charity stripe. Groskreutz was a second-team all-PacWest honoree.
> Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow), the 6-4 guard from Gresham, Ore., played 12 games for Dixie State last year. He averaged 1.5 points per game.
> Curtis Papenfuss (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas), a 6-8 forward from Happy Valley, Ore., appeared in 27 of the 28 DSU games last year. Papenfuss had a season-high 20 points off the bench at Azusa Pacific.
> Kimball Payne (Alpine, UT/Lone Peak), a 6-0 senior from Alpine, Utah, is expected to be the returning starter at point guard for Dixie State. Payne ranked third in the PacWest with 5.0 assists per game.
> Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland), the 6-10 combo forward/center from Upland, Calif., was selected as the Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. He is the DSU all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots.
> DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy), the 6-2 shooting guard from Las Vegas, expects to crack the starting lineup this year. Thompson finished last year strong to post a 9.2-point per game average.
> Braden Saunders (Morgan, UT/Morgan), the 6-3 guard from Morgan, Utah, returns to DSU after serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He redshirted for the Storm prior to his mission.

THE NEWCOMERS:
> Nate Ensign (American Fork, UT/American Fork), a 6-9 center, is a true freshman from American Fork, Utah. Ensign just returned from a mission.
> Louis Garrett (Saint George, UT/Pine View), the 6-6 senior forward from St. George, transferred from San Jose State. Garrett averaged 6.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in mainly a reserve role for the Spartans last year.
> Jordan Rex (Saint George, UT/Pine View), the 6-9 hometown product from St. George, will play center for the Red Storm. Last year, Rex redshirted at Weber State.
> Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan), the 5-10 sophomore guard from West Jordan, Utah, will likely start the season backing up Payne at point guard. Sawyer signed to play at Boise State after a stellar career at West Jordan HS. He transferred to Snow College before embarking on a church mission.

• CAL POLY POMONA

> The Broncos had won six of their previous seven games heading into the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament against Chico State. CPP had defeated the Wildcats in their regular season finale in Chico, 69-66, just six days before the postseason matchup. This time, Chico State nabbed the win, 77-73, to avoid losing for the third time to CPP on the season. DeRonn Scott led Cal Poly Pomona with 17 points.

> CPP has the nation's best scoring defense, allowing just 57.7 points per game., and the best field goal percentage defense at 36.9 percent. The Broncos also defend beyond the arc – their 27.8 percent 3-point defense is second in the country.

> Senior guard DeRonn Scott leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Scott is also the leading assist man. Sophomore forward Jordan Faison is the main force inside the paint – with averages of 13.8 points and 5.7 rebounds.

> Greg Kamansky is in his 14th year as head coach at CPP. He was named the 2010 National Coach of the Year (NABC and Division II Bulletin), is a four-time CCAA Coach of the Year and three-time NABC West Region Coach of the Year (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2012-13).

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
3/12/10 Cal Poly Pomona 71, Dixie State 62

LAST TIME vs. CPP, 2010 WEST REGIONAL: Forward Austin Swift had game highs of 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, leading Cal Poly Pomona to a 71-62 triumph over Dixie State College in opening-round action Friday at the West Regional of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament being played on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the campus of host Western Washington University.

Cal Poly Pomona, the No.4 seed in the region, improved to 23-6. Mitchel Anderson added 11 points off the bench for the Broncos, who reached the NCAA II national championship game last season.

Dixie State, the No.5 seed, concluded the season 20-6. The Red Storm, making their first national tournament appearance in only their second year of full NCAA membership, was led by the 16 points of guard Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas). Forward Tom Whitehead (St. George. UT/Dixie) added 13 points.

The Broncos, who held regular-season opponents to 39.3 percent field-goal shooting, were even better defensively Friday, limiting Dixie State to just 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from the field.

Cal Poly Pomona never trailed, holding a 32-28 lead at halftime, then pulling away midway through the second half, using a 15-6 run to take a 51-38 lead with 7:40 to play. Dixie State never got closer than seven points after that.

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