Dixie State, BYU-Hawaii advance to the NCAA II West Region Semifinals following victories

ELLENSBURG, WA – In what is quickly becoming known as the upset bracket, the first, second and third seeds have been bounced out of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball West Regional during the opening round of competition.

The good news is that #4 Dixie State and #7 BYU-Hawaii are among the four remaining teams alive in the chase for the West Region title and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, MA, after both squads secured opening-round victories on Friday night in Ellensburg, WA.

Dixie State defeated #5 Chaminade for the third time this season by the score of 92-81, setting up a showdown with #8 Seattle Pacific on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons knocked off top seed and host institution Central Washington 76-63 in Friday night’s final contest, leaving the Red Storm as the highest remaining seed in the regional.

BYU-Hawaii also pulled off the upset by drilling #2 Cal State Dominguez Hills 83-76 to advance into the semifinal round on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. against #6 Alaska Anchorage. The Sea Wolves defeated #3 Humboldt State 76-70 in the quarterfinals. Four years ago Alaska Anchorage defeated BYU-Hawaii 73-67 in the West Region title game in Alaska. BYU-Hawaii’s victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills avenged an 81-54 opening-season loss vs. the Toros.

The Seasiders will be looking for their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA II West Region Championship scheduled for Monday, March 14, with a victory on Saturday. BYU-Hawaii will earn that berth with a win and could participate in an All-PacWest title game should Dixie State capture its semifinal contest.

The Seasiders (18-8) jumped out to a 43-36 lead in the opening half on Friday night thanks to 51.6% (16 for 31) shooting from the floor and 58.3% (7 for 12) shooting from three-point land. Senior guard Marques Whippy (Bua, Fiji/Woods Cross, UT) led the Seasiders with 31 points, making 12 of 18 (66.7%) field goal attempts while grabbing eight rebounds. He also connected on 5 of 7 free throw attempts, was perfect from the three-point line (2 for 2), and blocked three shots.

Junior guard Jet Chang (Yilan, Taiwan/Sing Rong) and senior guard Heath Gameren (Brisbane, Australia) each posted a dozen points and five rebounds, while Gameren registered seven assists. Senior forward Rory Patterson (Logan, UT/Logan) scored 10 points in the victory.

Dixie State used the 22-point outburst from senior guard Jeremiah Barnes (Compton, CA/Los Altos) to claim its first NCAA II post-season victory in school history. He shot 50% (6 for 12) from the field, was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc, and made 7 of 9 foul shots. He also had four assists and three rebounds.

Senior forward Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie) contributed a dozen points and four rebounds in the win, while senior center Everton Araujo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) came off the bench for 10 points in 17 minutes of action.

Chaminade, who shared the PacWest regular-season title with Dixie State, was led by junior center Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge Prep) and his 15 points.