Dixie State campus briefs

MEN'S BASKETBALL: The Pacific West Conference has announced its their postseason awards for the 2009-2010 men's basketball season, and Dixie State College had four honorees, with Jon Judkins being named conference Coach of the Year for a second straight time.

Junior forward Tom Whitehead earned a spot on the Pac West First Team, junior guard Donovan Plunkett made the Second Team and senior forward Andy Palmer received Honorable Mention.

As a team, the Red Storm claimed a share of its first PacWest championship, met a season goal with a 20-6 overall record and secured a berth in the NCAA II National Championship Tournament. The Dixie State mentor earned his second straight Coach of the Year award, garnering four first-place votes edging out Ken Wagner of BYU-Hawaii.

Whitehead earned his All-PacWest First Team selection by leading the conference in 3-point shooting (45.2 percent) and ranking second in 3-pointers made per game (2.2). He connected on 56-of-124 shots from beyond the arc.

His long-distance shooting elevated him to fourth in the conference in scoring thanks to his 16.6 points-per-game average, while his 5.1 rebounds per game ranked him 16th. He shot 52.2 percent (127-for-242) from the floor, good enough for eighth in the league, while he finished the year fourth in foul shooting after making 82.5 percent (104-for-126) of his attempts. Whitehead also ranked third in blocks per game (1.2) in the PacWest. He currently sits third on the DSC scoring list, first in blocked shots and second in 3-point shots made.

Plunkett earned Second Team honors after making 44.1 percent (45-for-102) of his 3-point shots from the field, finishing in second behind Whitehead in 3-point shooting for the league. He was fifth in 3-pointers made per game (1.7), but was the PacWest foul shooting champion after making 86.0 percent (83-for-90) of his free-throw attempts. Plunkett wound up eighth in the league in scoring after averaging 14.0 points per game. In just one year with the Storm, Plunkett ranks eighth in points scored and second in overall scoring average.

Palmer earned his second straight All-PacWest selection, claiming Honorable Mention accolades after earning Second Team honors last year. Palmer averaged 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, ranking 18th in scoring and 15th in rebounding in the PacWest for the year. He shot 49.7 percent (97-for-195) from the floor, finishing 12th in the conference, while he made 75.5 percent (71-for-94) of his free-throw attempts to rank seventh in the league.