12/23/06   Five Western players among NJCAA division 1 scoring leaders

12/20/06   Rebels lose to No. 4 Seattle Pacific

Dustin Bremerman and Marques Echols each had 16 points to lead Seattle Pacific  (5-4) to an 82-76 non-conference men's basketball victory over Dixie State (9-7). Dan Stock led the Rebels with 25 points, 18 in the first half. Ryan Sanchez had 15, Troy Randall 14 and Ben Hartman 10. Sanchez also had 10 rebounds while Randall had eight.

12/18/06   Rebels run over Dustdevils

Dixie State College (9-6) downed an athletic Texas A&M International (5-3) team 67-51 in non-conference men's action. Ryan Sanchez led his team with 15 points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes of work.  Joining Sanchez in double figure scoring were Troy Randall with 13 (along with seven rebounds), Ben Hartman with 11 and Dan Stock with 10. Chris Cassity came off the bench for seven points and three assists.

12/15/06   Rebels lose final game of road trip

Delvaughn Tinned scored 30 points and Ronnie Simpson added 15 as Montana State-Northern (8-4) defeated Dixie State (8-5)  77-55 in non-conference men's basketball.  Guard Dan Stock led the Rebels with five rebounds. He was also the only DSC player in double figures as he scored 10 points. He also had five assists.

12/14/06   Hartman leads Rebels to win

Ben Hartman scored 24 points and Ryan Sanchez added 13 to lift Dixie State (8-5)to a 65-60 non-conference win over Carroll College (8-5) in men's basketball Thursday. Dallas Leslie led the Saints with 17 points while Eric Henkel added 16.

12/13/06   Rebels defeat University of Montana Western

Ryan Sanchez hit two free throws with 9.6 seconds left to give the Rebels (7-5) an 81-78 lead over Montana-Western (5-5). He finished with 23 points. Montana-Western's Tyler Palmer missed a 3-point attempt shortly before the buzzer to enable the Rebels to escape with the win. Dixie State had led by 12 before Gus McDonald, who had 16 of his 18 points in the second half, brought the Bulldogs back within 79-78 with 12.5 seconds left.  Johnny Little added 19 points and Dan Stock had 16 for the Rebels.  

12/13/06   Westminster drops five spots in NAIA poll

The NAIA released it second Top 25 poll for Division I Men's Basketball .  Westminster (8-5) came in at No. 22 with 80 votes.  Click here to see the entire poll.

12/12/06   CSI drop to 9th, SLCC enters at 19th in NJCAA poll

Salt Lake Community College moved into the NJCAA Division I basketball poll  being ranked 19th.  College of Southern Idaho dropped three places to 9th.   Click here to see the entire poll.

12/09/06   Utes fall to Rhode Island in overtime thriller

12/09/06   Cougars fall at no. 25 Michigan State

Despite a career performance from Trent Plaisted, BYU did not have enough to knock off No. 25 Michigan State Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills, falling 76-61 to the Spartans. The loss drops the Cougars to 5-3 on the year, while MSU improves to 9-2.

Plaisted led all scorers with a career-high 23 points, marking back-to-back games in which he has scored at least 20. Plaisted, who went 8-for-12 from the field after making his first eight shots, also paced the Cougars with seven rebounds. Lee Cummard was the only other Cougar to score in double figures with 10 points as he reached double digits for the third straight game. Austin Ainge dished out a team-high five assists, tying his season high.

The Spartans were led by Drew Neitzel with 22 points and Marquise Gray with 12 rebounds, one of two MSU players who posted a double-double

12/09/06   Thunderbirds hold off Weber State comeback

Steve Barnes tied his career-high with 24 points, including six free throws in the final minutes as Southern Utah held off a Weber State comeback to take a 75-63 win and give Thunderbird Coach Bill Evans his 200th career-win.

Swaney Cooper was the only other Thunderbird to score in double figures. He came off the bench to score 12 points and pull down a game-high eight rebounds. David Patten scored 12 points in just 19 minutes to lead the Wildcats.

12/09/06   Westminster wins at the buzzer

Westminster College improved to 8-5 with an 83-82 win over Northwest Nazarene University Saturday night in Salt Lake city, Utah. The Griffins trailed 81-82 when Tim Ireland put the Crusaders on top with just 19.8 seconds to play; however, after a broken play Westmintser's Jordan Jacobs drove to the lane and hit a leaning jump shot as time expired.

Danny Reeder and Rob Holcombe both scored career-highs in with 27 and 19, respectively, with all of Holcombe's points came in the second half. Reeder also chipped in six assists while Nate Sanchez chipped in 14 points and Jacobs 13.

12/06/06   Plaisted leads Cougars to win over San Jose State

Extending their home winning streak to 18 games, the BYU Cougars defeated the San Jose State Spartans Wednesday night at the Marriott Center, 81-69. BYU is now tied for the fifth-longest streak in the nation.

Once again senior Keena Young scored in double figures, making him the only Cougar to do so in all seven games this season. Also scoring in double figures were Trent Plaisted, Rashaun Broadus, Jimmy Balderson and Lee Cummard. Plaisted led the Cougars with a season-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Menelik Barbary led the Spartans with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jamon Hill recorded four assists.
 

12/06/06   Spicer hits game winner as USU defeats the Utes

Chaz Spicer hit a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining to lift Utah State to a 60-57 victory against Utah in an intrastate basketball battle here Wednesday night. The Aggies improved to 7-1 with the victory while Utah fell to 3-4.

Utah State was led by Jaycee Carroll, who scored a season-high tying 27 points to record his seventh straight 20-point game. Spicer added a season-high tying 12 points and a season-best six rebounds, while Stephen DuCharme scored eight of his 10 points in the first half.

Utah was paced by a trio of double-figure scorers in Luke Nevill, who had 16, Bryant, who scored 14, and Shaun Green, who scored 12. In addition to that trio scoring 42 of the Utes' 57 points, they combined for 21 of the team's 26 rebounds.

12/05/06   UVSC gains road win at UMKC

After suffering a heartbreaking loss on Saturday at Portland State, the Utah Valley State men's basketball team came back and picked up a big 91-79 victory at Mid-Continent Conference foe UMKC on Tuesday. The win improves the Wolverines record to 5-3.

The Wolverines finished with four players in double figures, led by 20 points from David Heck and Ryan Toolson. Heck and Peter Brown also grabbed a team best six rebounds. Richard Troyer scored 12 points and Joe Walker had 10 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

12/05/06   Weber State downs Portland

12/04/06   No. 8 Huskies thwart Southern Utah

Southern Utah gave No. 8 Washington just about all it wanted Monday night but Washington’s inside-outside combination of Spencer Hawes and Ryan Appleby proved to be just too much for the Thunderbirds, who dropped to 6-3 on the season with an 87-72 loss. The Huskies stayed perfect on the season at 7-0.

Justin Allen finished with 20 points to lead Southern Utah while Swaney Cooper scored 14, Steve Barnes had 12 and Nurudean Adepoju finished with 11.

12/02/06   Utah deals Washington State their first loss

12/02/06   Utah State posts easy win against Idaho State

Jaycee Carroll hit seven of eight field goal attempts en route to his sixth straight 20-point game, as the junior guard scored a game-high 22 points to lead Utah State to an 83-46 victory against Idaho State here on Saturday. With the win, Utah State improved o 6-1, while Idaho State fell to 2-5. The Aggies have now won 40 consecutive regular season home games against non-conference opponents.

The Aggies had five other players in double figures in addition to Carroll as Durrall Peterson scored 17 on six of nine shooting, Stephen DuCharme had 11 on four of four shooting and Chaz Spicer, Mikel Watson and Chris Session all added 10 points.

Idaho State was led by John Ofoegbu, who scored 15 points off the bench.

12/02/06   UVSC falls to Portland State

The Utah Valley State men's basketball team was out scored by 21 points in the second half and lost a heartbreaking 71-69 game to Big Sky foe Portland State on Saturday.

The Wolverines trailed 71-69 with two seconds left in the game and had a chance to win or send the game to overtime but Jordan Brady had a fall away 3-pointer bounce off the rim as time expired to seal the victory for Portland State. The Wolverines led the first 39 minutes of the game and by as many as 19 points. Portland State's Juma Kamara hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Vikings their first lead at 68-67. Ryan Toolson then hit a jumper with 19 seconds remaining to lift UV to a 69-68 lead. But with 3.5 seconds left in the game Dupree Lucas hit a shot in the lane and Julius Thomas hit one free throw with two seconds left to give the Vikings the lead for good.

Utah Valley shot 51 percent from the field, led by Toolson's 23 points on four of four shooting from the 3-point line. David Heck had 17 points and five rebounds while Matt Peterson scored 11. The Wolverines had 19 turnovers, 12 coming in the second half.

Portland State had five players in double figures. Kamara led PSU with 18 points while Scott Morrison had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

12/02/06   Wildcats nipped by Cougars in overtime

11/29/06   SUU downs UVSC

The Utah Valley State men's basketball team lost a tough 68-60 in-state game to Southern Utah on Wednesday in front of a crowd of 2,329 at the Centrum. The loss drops the Wolverines to 4-2 while SUU upped its record to 5-2.

David Heck led the Wolverines with a season high 24 points while Matt Peterson added 13.

Southern Utah was led by Nurudeen Adepoju's 17 points, Orlando Griego's 13 and Steve Barnes 12.

11/29/06   Weber State falls 67-55 at Utah

11/28/06   Cougars fall short on the road

Austin Ainge sparked a huge second-half comeback with a season-high 14 points, all in the second half, but it was not enough as BYU fell in a heartbreaker to Boise State, 72-68, Wednesday night in Boise. With the loss, BYU drops to 3-2 overall on the year while the Broncos improve to 2-3.

The Broncos' Coby Karl led all scorers with a game-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Jimmy Balderson led three Cougars in double figures with a team-best 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.  Keena Young and Ainge each added 14 points with Ainge also contributing four rebounds and two assists. Lee Cummard chipped in nine points and five rebounds. Young has now scored in double figures in every game this season.

11/28/06   Thunderbirds hold off Wolverines

Nurudeen Adepoju scored 17 points to lead three Thunderbirds in double figures Wednesday night as Southern Utah withstood a late Utah Valley State charge to gain a 68-60 victory in the first-ever meeting between the schools on the basketball court. Southern Utah improved to 5-2 with the win while UVSC dropped to 4-2.

Orland Greigo finished with a season-high 13 points and four assists for the Thunderbirds while Steve Barnes finished with 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds to co-lead the team on the glass..

David Heck led all scorers with 24 points, also a season-high, and led all rebounders with six.  Matt Peterson finished with 13 points and four assists for the Wolverines.

11/27/06   Allen leads Thunderbirds over Denver

Justin Allen scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds to lead Southern Utah to a 73-63 win over the University of Denver Monday night. The win, Southern Utah’s second this year over the Pioneers, moved SUU to 4-2 on the season while Denver dropped to 1-5.

Steve Barnes finished with 17 points and seven assists as well as four rebounds, while Tate Sorenson, who played just 20 minutes, finished with 11 points. Alex Cox came off the bench to score 15 to lead Denver.

11/25/06   Weber State falls short in rematch against Aggies

11/24/06   Plaisted leads BYU past Southern Utah

Trent Plaisted scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Brigham Young to its 10th win in as many tries against Southern Utah Friday night, 80-61. With the loss SUU dropped to 3-2 on the season while BYU improved to 3-1.

11/22/06   BYU routs Portland

Three Cougars scored in double figures as BYU defeated Portland, 79-50, in a 29-point rout on Wednesday in front of 8,022 fans at the Marriott Center.

Lee Cummard paced BYU with a career-high14 points, while Keena Young and Sam Burgess each added 13 points. Young and Vuk Ivanovic led the Cougars with nine rebounds apiece. Sherrard Watson and Jamie Jones both tallied eight points apiece for Portland, and Kevin Field led all players with 11 boards.

11/22/06   Thunderbirds upend Vandals

Nurudeen Adepoju scored 13 points to lead three Thunderbirds in double figures as Southern Utah used a stifling defensive effort to upend Idaho Wednesday night, 67-50. In addition to Adepoju, Southern Utah got double-figure scoring from Justin Allen, with 12 points and Steve Barnes with 10, while junior forward Swaney Cooper pulled down a career-best eight caroms to lead all rebounders. Cooper also blocked two shots for the Thunderbirds.

11/18/06   BYU defeats Idaho State in overtime

BYU defeated Idaho State in thrilling fashion Saturday evening at the Marriott Center, as the Cougars posted an 84-78 overtime victory. With the win, BYU climbs to 1-1, while Idaho State falls to 1-2 on the season.

Jimmy Balderson paced the Cougars with 23 points, while Keena Young added 18 points and 10 rebounds to record the fourth double-double of his career. Idaho State's Akbar Abdul-Ahad led all scorers with 26 points on the evening. Austin Ainge posted a game-high four assists.
 

11/18/06   Boise State hands Southern Utah their first loss of season

Boise State ended Southern Utah’s season-opening two-game road winning streak Saturday, taking a 77-68 win over the Thunderbirds at Taco Bell Arena. SUU dropped to 2-1 with the loss while BSU evened its record at 1-1.

Steve Barnes led SUU in scoring for the second straight game, with 15 points, while Orlando Griego and Justin Allen each chipped in 10. Matt Nelson led four Broncos in double figures with 16 points and led all rebounders with nine.

11/15/06   Cougars fall  at no. 5 UCLA

The BYU Cougars kept it close but faded at the end at No. 5 UCLA Wednesday night, losing 82-69 in their season-opener. After leading by as many as nine in the first half and hanging tight in the second half, BYU allowed the Bruins to end the game on an 18-7 run to seal the win.

Senior Keena Young led the Cougars with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 shooting from the free-throw line while also pacing BYU with four rebounds. Junior Sam Burgess tied his career high with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range in his first action since 2004-05, while Mike Rose was also a perfect 3-for-3 from long range for nine points. Jimmy Balderson and Lee Cummard also each added nine as the Cougars shot .578 from the field, including .667 (10-of-15) from behind the arc.

11/14/06   Southern Utah wins at Denver

Nurudeen Adepoju scored 19 points, Tate Sorenson added 16 and Steve Barnes chipped in 15 and 10 assists as Southern Utah equaled last year’s road wins total with a 74-68 win at University of Denver Tuesday night.

11/10/06   Thunderbirds overcome sluggish start, upset Utah

Steve Barnes scored 17 points, including the game-winner with 36 seconds remaining as Southern Utah won for the second time in 10 tries at Utah Friday night, 76-73.

The Thunderbirds got off to a terrible start in the second half, turning it over seven times in the first six minutes in giving up the lead and falling behind 53-44 with 14:35 to play. From that point, however, SUU giving it up just two more times the rest of the way, turning the tables on the Utes, who went cold and turned it over six times down the stretch. SUU cut the 53-44 deficit to 54-50 as Marcus Carson,  Nurudean Adepoju and Barnes all scored, then finally tied it at 67-67 when Marcus Carson hit the first of two free throws with 3:32 to play. The Thunderbirds took a 71-67 lead when Barnes hit a three from the right wing but Utah came back to tie 71-71 on a Stephen Weigh lay up with 1:36 to play. Utah went up 73-72 after Chris Grant hit a pair of free throws, but Barnes hit the winner with 38 seconds to play  SUU forced Johnnie Bryant into a desperation shot with two seconds to play but it was short and the ball went off  Luke Nevill and out of bounds to SUU. David Marek was fouled on the in-bounds play, but he hit two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Adepoju finished with 16 points and Tate Sorenson had 13 for the Thunderbirds while Barnes led the team with six rebounds and five assists. Nevill had 19 points to lead Utah, while Bryant and Stephen Weigh each finished with 13.

11/05/06   Local Junior College Basketball Players named as Pre-Season All Americans

Three local Junior College Basketball players have been named as 2006-2007 NJCAA Pre-Season All Americans.   SLCC's Gary Wilkinson was selected to the eight man first team.  Gary is a great success story as he actually was cut from Bingham High as a sophomore.  He is now among the nation's most recruited JC basketball players.

Snow's Geoff Payne was selected to the NJCAA Pre-Season second team.   Geoff prepped at Alta High School and redshirted his freshman season at Utah. Geoff led the SWAC in scoring last season.

Third team NJCAA Pre-Season All American honors went to College of Southern Idaho's Mo Taukiuvea.  Mo is another huge success story.   After graduating from West High School in 1999, Mo spent a number of years working before deciding to play for Dixie State College last season.  Mo transferred to CSI to continue his JC career.

Link:    2006-2007 NJCAA Pre-Season All Americans