Box Score    |    Final Stats    |    VIDEO: Sharif  Khan

SEATTLE – Trevor Hill scored 21 points for Dixie State, including the decisive free throws with 0.9 seconds showing on the clock in Saturday's 74-72 men's basketball overtime win against Seattle Pacific in the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic at Brougham Pavilion.
 
SPU (2-2) lost its second straight game, following Friday's 78-69 setback versus 17th-ranked Minnesota State.
 
The Falcons' Coleman Wooten forced the overtime by downing a driving layup that set the score at 68-68 with 12.8 seconds left in regulation. He was fouled on the play, but didn't sink the subsequent free throw.
 
Hill had a chance to clinch a win for Dixie in regulation, but his shot from inside the lane rimmed off at the buzzer.


 
Wooten (Tahoma HS) scored all four of the Falcons overtime points, the last two coming on free throws with 1:21 remaining that evened the score at 72-72. Each team then missed a jump shot, but after Wooten rebounded the errant DSU attempt, the ball was grabbed away by Dub Price, giving the visitors possession with 27 seconds left in overtime.
 
Hill was fouled by Will Parker in the final second and converted both free throws for the go-ahead points. SPU's Gavin Long heaved a long inbounds pass downcourt to the right side for Olivier-Paul Betu, whose 24-foot 3-point try at the final whistle rolled off the rim.
 
A 6-foot-4 junior guard, Hill grabbed nine rebounds to lead a 49-36 advantage on the boards for the Trailblazers (1-3). Brndon Simister added 19 points.
 
Freshman Tony Miller came off the bench to lead SPU with 21 points. Joe Rasmussen scored 12 and Sharif Khan had 10 while Wooten finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
 
"We love what Tony brings us offensively. He can shoot, he can drive and he can post up. He has such a versatile skill set," described first-year SPU coach Grant Leep. "When he gets going he's an awful tough cover for anybody at our level. We're proud to have him. We're going to continue to give him opportunities because we are a better team when he scores."
 
Hill and Wooten were named to the all-tournament team along with Dom Hunter of Central Washington and two players from Minnesota State, which was the only team to win both of its games in the Classic. The Maverick's Charlie Brown was honored as the Most Valuable Player and was joined on the all-tournament squad by teammate Joey Witthus.
 
Minnesota defeated Central Washington 104-93 in Saturday's first game.
 
Dixie State got points from five different players, including five from Simister, to claim a 12-5 margin 5:20 into the contest. They committed two turnovers and missed a jump shot on their next three possessions and SPU capitalized with three consecutive 3-pointers to surge ahead 14-12.
 
The Trailblazers re-took the lead with a seven-point run sparked by Quincy Mathews. His steal and fastbreak dunk capped the spree, providing a 23-19 margin with 7:16 left in the first half.
 
The visitors outscored SPU 14-8 over the final 5:18 to forge a 37-30 halftime advantage.

 

The Falcons found themselves down 14 points early in the second half before battling back to force overtime. The scored was 59-47 in favor of DSU before a layup by Miller with 8:57 left in regulation ignited a 13-point run. By the time Olivier-Paul Betu made to free throws with 5:39 left, SPU was up 60-59.
 
Lee pinpointed what went right for his team during the surge to get back into the game.
 
"The ball was moving. Guys were moving with purpose and we got better shots because of it. The offensive ebbs and flows of this team have either been tied in to spacing, shot selection or our ability to value the basketball.
 
"When we're clicking and things are right, we have some guys that can go make some plays. We're finding a lot out about ourselves, our grit and competitiveness and the way our guys responded tonight, I couldn't be more proud."
 
Three more lead changes occurred in regulation, the final one coming when Hill completed a three-point play with 27.6 seconds left to push Dixie ahead 68-66 and set up Wooten's overtime-inducing free throws.
 
Some lapses late in the first half and early in the second were too difficult for Leep's young team to overcome.
 
"Our guys are learning what it means to win a college basketball game and how hard you have to play for 40 minutes, not for 20 or 25, but for all 40 on both ends of the floor. We have the guys that can do it, it's just a matter of being consistent with our effort and consistent with our execution."
 
The Falcons got nearly half of their scoring production off the bench as their reserves outscored the opponent's 34-13. SPU shot 39 percent (24 of 62) and hit 11 of 33 shots from 3-point range. Dixie countered with 39-percent accuracy from the field (27 of 69) and was 5-for-19 on treys.
 
While frustrated with the final result, Leep was encouraged that his team got to experience some tight-game strategy that will benefit them in the future.
 
"It's great for us. Both from a standpoint of our youth and for me as a first-year head coach these are all learning opportunities for us. We do a lot of situation work in practice, but for us to be able to do in in a late-game situation is invaluable."
 
The SPU men hit the road next weekend for the first time in the regular season, playing a pair of games at the Cougar Classic in Azusa, California. They clash with host Azusa Pacific on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before a 5:30 p.m. game Saturday against a Point Loma Nazarene team directed by former Falcons coach Ryan Looney.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Dixie State 74, at Seattle Pacific 72 (ot)
 
DIXIE STATE (1-3)
Mathews 3-5 1-2 7, Hunter 1-5 4-6 6, Fuller 4-8 0-0 8, Simister 7-16 2-2 19, Hill 7-19 6-8 21, Miller 3-10 2-2 9, Price 2-3 0-0 4, Sanchez 0-2 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Nielson 0-0 0-0 0, Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 15-20 74.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-2)
Wooten 4-14 2-3 11, Simpson 0-5 0-0 0, Rasmussen 3-9 4-6 12, Parker 2-3 0-0 6, Betu 2-7 4-4 9, Miller 8-13 2-5 21, Khan 4-10 0-0 10, Long 1-1 1-2 3, Eisenhower 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 13-20 72.
 
Dixie State.............   37   31    6  -   74
Seattle Pacific.........   30   38    4  -   72
 
3-point goals--DSU 5-19 (Simister 3-8, Miller 1-4, Hill 1-2, Hunter 0-1, Price 0-1, Sanchez 0-1, Fuller 0-2), SPU 11-33 (Miller 3-6, Khan 2-5, Rasmussen 2-7, Parker 2-2, Wooten 1-6, Betu 1-4, Simpson 0-3). Fouled out--DSU-Fuller, Mathews, Quincy, SPU-Rasmussen. Rebounds--DSU 49 (Hill 9), SPU 36 (Wooten 8). Assists--DSU 8 (Hill 3), SPU 15 (Wooten 5). Total fouls--DSU 26, SPU 21. Technical fouls--DSU-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-278.
 
All-Tournament Team
Charlie Brown, Minnesota State (MVP)
Joey Witthus, Minnesota State
Dom Hunter, Central Washington
Trevor Hill, Dixie State
Coleman Wooten, Seattle Pacific
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Cougar Classic
Seattle Pacific at Azusa Pacific
Friday, Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m. PST
Felix Event Center / Azusa, Calif.