GAME #19
ART U (7-11, 5-6 PWC) vs. Dixie State (14-4, 9-1 PWC)
February, 9, 2013 at 3:00PM
San Francisco, CA -- Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video
TIPPING OFF
The Urban Knights continued their success of the last homestand with a successful road trip, sandwiching two impressive victories over Point Loma and Azusa Pacific around a loss to a good California Baptist team. Academy of Art handed PLNU their eighth straight loss with a 77-69 comeback victory, and then dispatched Azusa Pacific while setting a program record in scoring in a 97-92 win. The game against Dixie State marks the beginning of a five-game homestand that will take the Knights up to their final two "away games" against Holy Names (Oakland) and Dominican (San Rafael) at the end of the month.
DIXIE COMES WITH MARGIN FOR ERROR
The Red Storm head to San Francisco sitting atop the PacWest standings and boasting the top scoring margin in the conference, averaging over 10 points more per game than their opponents. They also have the highest field-goal percentage in the PacWest as the only team shooting over 50% as a team while also holding opponents under 40% on the other end. The Red Storm have nobody on the top scoring list until number 18, but Zach Robbins (12.7 ppg), McKay Massey (12.6 ppg) and Dalton Groskreutz (11.9 ppg) combine for one of the most formidable scoring trios in the conference. Robbins also leads the PacWest in rebounding, pulling down 8.7 boards per game, while Kimball Payne is atop the conference with 5.2 assists per contest. Dixie's one loss in PacWest play this year came way back on December 8th, when they fell 82-80 to Fresno Pacific.
PACWEST PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the inception of the PacWest Championship Tournament this year in basketball, the Urban Knights have been keeping a close eye on the standings all year. As of Wednesday, the playoff picture is certainly shaping up, but is by no means solidified. Dixie State sits (10-1) in first place, followed closely by Chaminade (9-3) and Grand Canyon (8-3). Fresno Pacific is at 9-4 but they are ineligible in their first year, so Dominican (8-4) holds down the fourth spot, followed by BYU-Hawaii (7-4) in the fifth spot. California Baptist (6-5) and Azusa Pacific (5-5) are also ineligible, which leaves the Knights (5-6) in sole possession of the sixth spot. Hawai'i Pacific (4-7) and Notre Dame de Namur (4-8) are close behind, but the Knights do hold the advantage.
ON THE REBOUND
After the Knights face their SoCal opponents, they'll return home for a lengthy home stand of five games, facing off against Dixie State (Feb. 9) at Kezar Pavilion.
