Men's Basketball | 11/23/2013 5:03:00 PM

Box Score

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The No. 15 Dixie State University men's basketball team held off upset-minded Western Oregon University on the road Saturday, 78-74.

The Red Storm (4-0) led by as many as eight points, including with 6:51 remaining in regulation. The Wolves made a run late, and had an opportunity to take the lead with just seconds remaining, but watched a three-point shot fall just short. 

"Our guys showed a lot of poise down the backstretch," WOU Head Coach Brady Bergeson said. "I'm proud of the improvements we've made in the last week. Defensively we were solid, but we need to continue to improve our defense in transition and block out."

Dixie State committed 20 turnovers, but outrebounded WOU 40-27 in the victory. The Red Storm made 46 percent of their shots from the field, 4-of-12 from three-point range, and 23-of-29 from the free throw line. WOU was 44 percent from the field. The Wolves made six of their 24 shots from behind-the-arc and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

Dalton Groskruetz led all scorers with 23 points for DSU. He finished 7-of-9 from the field. Zach Robbins had 12 points and 15 rebounds in double-double performance. DeQuan Thompson and Louis Garrett both added 12 points. Mason Sawyer had three assists and two steals off of the bench.

In a game that featured eight ties, Western Oregon jumped out to a six point advantage, 11-5. But, the Red Storm rallied and took their first lead 18-17 minutes later. DSU led for the majority of the game from that point, including a 43-39 halftime lead.

Mirza Sabic led Western Oregon (2-3) with 18 points. He made seven of his 12 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. Adam Hastings added 13 points, while Marwan Sarhan had 12. Lewis Thomas had a team-high six rebounds. Devon Alexander dished out four assists, while Jordan Schriber had four steals.

Western Oregon welcomes Willamette University for a 7 p.m. tipoff Wednesday. The game will have live video and stats on WOUWolves.com.

Dixie State vs Western Oregon
11/23/13 2 p.m. at Monmouth, OR
At Monmouth, OR
DIXIE STATE 78, WESTERN OREGON 74
DIXIE STATE (4-0)
Groskreutz, Dalton 7-9 8-8 23; Thompson, DeQuan 3-11 5-7 12; Robbins, Zach
5-8 1-2 12; Garrett, Louis 5-12 2-2 12; Sawyer, Mason 2-6 1-2 6; Payne,
Kimball 2-3 2-4 6; Rex, Jordan 2-6 0-2 4; Nielson, Robbie 1-2 1-2 3;
Papenfuss, Curtis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 20-29 78.
WESTERN OREGON (2-3)
Sabic,Mirza 7-12 0-0 18; Hastings,Adam 5-8 3-5 13; Sarhan,Marwan 6-9 0-0 12;
Thomas,Lewis 4-10 1-1 9; Webster,Rodney 3-7 2-2 9; Alexander,Devon 3-11 0-0
6; Wiley,Jordan 2-8 0-0 5; Schriber,Jordan 1-4 0-0 2; Holbrook,Eric 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 31-69 6-8 74.
Dixie State...................   43   35  -   78
Western Oregon................   39   35  -   74
3-point goals--Dixie State 4-12 (Sawyer, Mason 1-2; Thompson, DeQuan 1-4;
Groskreutz, Dalton 1-1; Robbins, Zach 1-1; Nielson, Robbie 0-1; Garrett,
Louis 0-3), Western Oregon 6-24 (Sabic,Mirza 4-8; Wiley,Jordan 1-4;
Webster,Rodney 1-1; Thomas,Lewis 0-3; Alexander,Devon 0-6; Schriber,Jordan
0-1; Hastings,Adam 0-1). Fouled out--Dixie State-None, Western Oregon-None.
Rebounds--Dixie State 40 (Robbins, Zach 15), Western Oregon 26 (Thomas,Lewis
6). Assists--Dixie State 9 (Sawyer, Mason 3), Western Oregon 11
(Webster,Rodney 4; Alexander,Devon 4). Total fouls--Dixie State 12, Western
Oregon 19. Technical fouls--Dixie State-None, Western Oregon-None. A-312