DSC loses perfect record to GCU

In spite of a good shooting night the Red Storm fell to Grand Canyon University 82-80 as the team is no longer perfect in the Pacific West Conference.

Dixie State College (12-4, 6-1) shot 60.9 percent from the field compared to 44 percent for the GCU Antelopes (10-13, 4-3). The difference was the Antelopes snatched 20 offensive rebounds for 13 more shots than the Red Storm.

The game, played in Phoenix, was evenly matched most of the way through until the Antelopes extended their lead to 80-70 with 31 seconds left on the clock. Junior forward Kevin Lindquist put in two layups and junior guard Jeremiah Barnes had two 3-pointers, one of which was at the buzzer, as the Red Storm fell short.

DSC was led by junior guard Donovan Plunkett, who had his highest point total of the season at 30.

Even though he had an outstanding shooting night, Plunkett said he was frustrated with the loss.

"I'd rather take zero points and get the win than get 30 points and lose," said Plunkett, an integrated studies major from Oroville, Calif. "We didn't rebound the ball and had too many turnovers."

Head coach Jon Judkins said he was confident while watching the game film, and that his team should be able to bounce back.

"You can't make the mistakes that we made and expect to win," Judkins said. "It doesn't matter who you're playing. You can't let teams get that many offensive rebounds on you. The game was won and lost on the glass."

Judkins said the team prides itself on winning the battle on rebounds and turnovers, but this time GCU beat them at their own game. He also said the team was anxious to play the rematch, and wanted to play against the Antelopes the next day rather than waiting a whole week.

"It was a great atmosphere down there," Judkins said. "It was homecoming for [GCU], and they came out and played well."

Junior forward Tom Whitehead and Barnes each had 13 points, and senior guard Adam Ross had 10 points. The Antelopes were led by senior guard T.J. Benson, who had 16 points.

The first half was a half of runs as GCU started the game with a 20-10 lead. The Red Storm responded with a 23-8 run, which was countered by the Antelopes' 9-4 run to go into halftime tied at 37. Plunkett helped the Red Storm get back into the game with 21 of his 30 points coming in the first half.

The team remained only a half a game behind Hawaii Pacific University (15-4, 7-1) for first place in the PacWest. The Sea Warriors of HPU take on Notre Dame de Namur University on Friday.

Plunkett said the Red Storm need to get back to the fundamentals of boxing out and rebounding in order to win in Saturday's rematch with GCU. The game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Burns Arena.