Palmer was perfect from the field and the foul line en route to 18 points, helping the Red Storm beat Grand Canyon with a 78-68 win Saturday.

"I might (be coming off the bench more). I'll do what coach wants me to do," Palmer said. "Coming off the bench or starting, it doesn't matter as long we play hard and win."

The win improves Dixie State to 13-4 and 7-1 in Pac West play, creating valuable momentum heading into the crucial trip to the Hawaiian Islands.

It also avenges an earlier season loss to Grand Canyon - Dixie State's first in conference play.

"We were 6-0 at the time, and we got onto cruise control before the game," Palmer said. "That bus ride home was a long. We watched a lot of tape all week. We did all the little things that helped us win (Saturday)."

Palmer was taken out of the starting lineup by the coaching staff, after he sat out a some practices during the week nursing a rib injury which has plagued him for the entire season.

After the loss to Grand Canyon, Dixie State coach Jon Judkins talked with Palmer about his injury, and it was decided that he was going to take some time off.

Palmer was replaced by Zach Robbins in the starting lineup.

"Wasn't that a good decision (to start Zach)?" Judkins said. "We weren't doing it to test Palmer. We need him for the road trip coming up. He came out ready to play.

Palmer's 18 was second on the team behind Tom Whitehead, who despite scoring 20, struggled offensively.

Whitehead shot 5-of-13, but was 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.

"Tom needs to realize that they know him now," Judkins said. "He gets into that habit of shooting 3s instead of trying to get to the basket. He did a good job in the second half of getting to the line."

Dixie State outrebounded Grand Canyon 40-26, including a 14-10 advantage on the offensive end.

Whitehead was the team leader with nine, while Nick Howard chimed in with eight and Palmer with seven.

"We didn't rebound very good out there (in the loss)," Judkins said. "Our goal is to get 20 offensive rebounds a game. It gives us more chances to score and a better chance to win."

The Red Storm and Antelopes were tied at 47 with 13 minutes remaining in the second half. But then the Red Storm got a few calls, and went on a game-changing 22-7 run over a nine-minute stretch.

Dixie State attempted 16 free throws during that span, converting 12 and emphatically shutting the door on the Antelopes.

Marco Ramos led Grand Canyon with 16 points.

The attention for the Red Storm now turns to the Hawaii road trip. Dixie State will play four games in eight days.

The biggest challenge will be switching the mental focus from playing one game a week to playing four games in a week.

"If we would have lost this one, it would have been two in a row and it could have been a long road trip for us," Judkins said. "When you don't play a game, you don't have the energy to restart your batteries. It really wears you out."

Dixie State's first game on the rock is Feb. 14 against Hawaii Hilo.