• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

SEATTLE – Dixie State picked up its second win of the season, downing Western Washington, 86-80 in the first game of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic men's basketball tournament at Brougham Pavilion.

Western evens its record at 1-1 with the loss.

Dixie State's Tom Whitehead led all players with 21 points, followed by 14 points by Donovan Plunkett and 10 by Jeremiah Barnes.

Five Vikings tallied double-digit points led by the 17 of Shedrick Nelson. Rory Blanche and Derek Dickerson each chipped in 12, while Zach Henifin and Dan Young totaled 10 apiece.

A 3-pointer by WWU's Dickerson briefly tied the game at 60-60 with 8:46 left to play. The Red Storm answered with a trey of its own by McKay Massey, retaking the lead for good with 8:32 remaining.

McKay's trey started Dixie on a 13-2 run that built the advantage back to double figures. Four times in the second half, Western cut the lead to four points, but the Vikings were unable to overcome the deficit.

The Vikings came out with more energy in the second half, cutting into the Dixie State lead with nearly every possession of the first five minutes. A layup by John Allen at 15:46 cut the Red Storm lead to just three points. A dunk by Blanche with 13:31 to play brought the Vikings within a point at 51-50, but Everton Araujo answered with a layup and a made free throw to put the Red Storm up by four.

Western made the first basket of the game, but Dixie State went on a 14-4 run to take control, ending the first half with a 42-33 lead. The Red Storm kept the game well in hand throughout the first half, shooting 59 percent (16-of-27), while holding the Vikings to just 30 percent shooting (10-of-33).

In the first half, Barnes led all players with 10 points in just 10 minutes of play. Young led the scoring for Western Washington with eight points.

Dixie State opened up a 17-point lead in the first period on the strength of its shooting and quickness of its zone defense. With just over a minute left in the first half, Western closed the scoring gap to seven points, but the Red Storm sunk a basket near the expiration of play to stretch the lead back to nine.

Both teams remain in Seattle to play the second day of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic. Western Washington will play Cal State East Bay at 3pm on Saturday, and Dixie State will face off with host Seattle Pacific at 7pm.


NCAA Men's Basketball
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Friday, Nov. 19, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

DIXIE STATE 86, WESTERN WASHINGTON 80

WESTERN WASHINGTON (1-1)
Nelson, Shedrick 6-13 2-4 17; Blanche, Rory 5-12 2-4 12; Dickerson, Derek 4-8 0-0 12; Henifin, Zach 3-7 3-4 10; Young, Dan 3-3 4-5 10; Allen, John 3-7 0-0 7; Thorpe, Dane 2-3 0-0 4; Duty, Michael 0-6 2-2 2; Mitchell, Chris 1-4 0-0 2; Wiederkehr, Anthony 1-1 0-0 2; Wilkins, Rico 1-8 0-0 2. Totals 29-72 13-19 80.

DIXIE STATE (2-2)
Whitehead, Tom 6-12 7-8 21; Plunkett, Donovan 3-7 6-6 14; Barnes, Jeremiah 5-9 0-0 10; Araujo, Everton 2-5 5-6 9; Jones, Griffon 3-7 3-4 9; Massey, McKay 3-5 0-0 7; Cole, Maurice 1-1 3-4 5; Jensen, Solomon 1-7 2-4 4; Clegg, Landon 1-2 0-0 3; Owen, Derek 1-2 0-2 2; Adams, Brett 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 26-34 86.

Western Washington........ 33   47 -- 80
Dixie State........................ 42   44 -- 86

3-point goals--Western Washington 9-36 (Dickerson, Derek 4-7; Nelson, Shedrick 3-9; Henifin, Zach 1-2; Allen, John 1-5; Duty, Michael 0-2; Mitchell, Chris 0-2; Wilkins, Rico 0-7; Thorpe, Dane 0-1; Blanche, Rory 0-1), Dixie State 6-14 (Plunkett, Donovan 2-4; Whitehead, Tom 2-7; Clegg, Landon 1-1; Massey, McKay 1-2). Fouled out--Western Washington-Nelson, Shedrick, Dixie State-Jones, Griffon. Rebounds--Western Washington 41 (Blanche, Rory 8), Dixie State 36 (Owen, Derek 6). Assists--Western Washington 15 (Allen, John 3), Dixie State 18 (Cole, Maurice 5; Barnes, Jeremiah 5). Total fouls--Western Washington 25, Dixie State 22. Technical fouls--Western Washington-None, Dixie State-None. Att.-158.