ST. GEORGE, UT- The Swords came out against the Red Storm leading 12-0 early on the first half at Burns Arena.
Waly Coulibaly and
Steven Bennett each hit two threes to gain the double-digit advantage. The Red Storm then got back in to the game as the next ten fouls were called on the Silverswords and four Swords had two or more fouls in the opening twenty minutes.
Chaminade did their best to fight through, and led 30-24 at the break. The fouls continued to pile on in the second half, and the Swords struggled from the arc, connecting on only one three in the second twenty minutes.
Dixie came out hard in the second half, tightening the game up and defending the Swords well. The Red Storm dominated the game from the charity stripe, connecting on 23 of 32 attempts. Conversely, CUH only shot 16. Coach Mahar added, “Dixie State is a tough place to play. Our guys played hard. I'm proud of their effort.”
The Swords got another solid performance from junior
Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge), scoring 13 points, corralling 11 boards and blocking 2 shots in defeat.
Steven Bennett added 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds for the Swords.
Griffon Jones led the Red Storm with 12 points.
The Swords fall to 11-7, 4-2 in the Pac West. Dixie State moves to 11-5, 4-2 in conference. Chaminade faces UH-Hilo at home on Thursday, Feb. 3rd in McCabe Gym at 7:30 PM HT.
