It's easy to look at Tom Whitehead's offensive numbers and say he had a great game.
But it was his defensive intensity and all-around effort that boosted Dixie State in its 64-41 thrashing of Notre Dame de Namur inside Burns Arena Monday, keeping Dixie State undefeated in Pac West play (6-0).
"It's cliche, but defense wins championships," Whitehead said.
Whitehead finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point land), incluing a perfect performance to start the game (5-for-5).
But Dixie State coach Jon Judkins was more impressed with Whitehead's nine rebounds (five offensive), three blocks, three assists and four steals.
"Tom Whitehead shot the ball really well, but the reason he was shooting so well was because he was playing defense," Judkins said. "I was really happy with his defense tonight almost more than his shooting."
Whitehead diving for a number of loose balls won't come up on the stat sheet, but his efforts didn't go unnoticed by his teammates.
"Tom really stepped up the energy and he was really all over the court," said Jeremiah Barnes, who had 15 points. "We didn't want to let him down."
Whitehead capped his performance with a highlight reel sequence built for television with 10:27 remaining in the second half. With the shot clock running down, the Argonauts' Bennie Murray hurled a shot smack into Whitehead's outstretched hand.
Whitehead caught the ball in stride, drove it down the court and finished with a two-handed jam.
"I don't think I've had a dunk in Burns Arena," he said. "It was fun. I knew he had to shoot it. He had no other choice. It was a lot of instincts after that."
On the ensuing play, Whitehead got another block, helping maintain Dixie State's back-breaking 21-6 run.
It was that type of defensive intensity that provided a lift for the Red Storm (12-3 overall) when the shots weren't falling at the start of the second half.
The Red Storm went 1-for-7 from the floor in the first four minutes after the break.
"(Big defensive plays) gets you going," Judkins said. "I tell everyone that defense starts your offense."
Added Whitehead: "Those loose balls lead to bigger things. ... We didn't have the offense falling right at first, but our shots were going to fall eventually."
Only one Notre Dame de Namur player reached double figures.
Cheynne Lishman scored 15 points for the Argonauts (2-15, 0-6 Pac West).
"When we defend, we're pretty good," Judkins said.
