Box Score

St. George, UT – Against the West Region's sixth ranked team, Dixie State, the Urban Knights fell 99-54 on Saturday night. ART U was behind at halftime, but made a push to come back early in the second period. The Red Storm, however, used another run to create the final separation inside their home gym of Burns Arena. Academy of Art had strong production from its bench in the first half, outscoring DSC 14-8 in that period.

“Dixie played extremely well and forced us into some things, but we have to learn from this,” Head Coach Mark Sembrowich said. “I really like our players and I like our team and we'll be back. We will get back up and we will fight this coming week.”

The Red Storm opened the game by taking a 13-2 advantage which freshman forward William Overton, Jr. helped reduce with a jumper. Eight minutes into the first half, Dixie State's Tom Whitehead knocked down a big triple, but sophomore guard Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. answered back with a 3-pointer of his own. The Urban Knights made all three of their shots from distance in the half during a two minute span midway through the period.

Then back-to-back buckets came for freshman center Noah Koné-Nelson, including a thunderous one-handed slam dunk. However, the Red Storm utilized a 13-0 run to eventually assume a 50-26 advantage at halftime.

Similarly to the Knights' contest against Grand Canyon two days earlier, Academy of Art began the second half on a 7-2 run. Junior forward Keith Davis sparked the burst by converting a three-point play. DSC would push its lead further along by way of a 22-3 response and maintain its advantage for the remainder of the period. The scoreboard read a 99-54 final for Dixie State at the end of the night.

ART U had a team-high 16 points from Overton, Jr. along with five rebounds. Prema, Jr., senior guard Phillip Samuel, and Koné-Nelson all provided solid scoring off the bench, combining for 21 of the Knights' 25 bench points. Davis contributed seven points while junior center Hunter Hayden pulled down a team-high six rebounds.  ART U is now 5-17 overall, 2-10 in PacWest play.

Leading the way for Dixie State was Whitehead with 16 points (8-for-8 at the foul line). Guard Maurice Cole added 15 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. The Red Storm move to 14-5 overall, 7-2 in the PacWest.

The Knights return to the Bay Area for their next contest this Thursday, Feb. 17 against Chaminade. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM following the women's game inside Kezar Pavilion.