A cold shooting night at the charity stripe, coupled with a second-half three-point barrage by Central Washington, spelled doom for Dixie State as the Trailblazers dropped a 99-95 overtime decision to CWU in the first game of the Seattle Pacific/Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic at the Brougham Pavilion.
In a reversal of its first two games of the young season, Dixie State (0-3) got off to the quick start as the Trailblazers scored the game's first seven points and held a 19-10 advantage through the opening eight minutes of play. Sophomore guard
Brandon Miller (Sandy, Utah/Brighton HS) accounted for eight of DSU's first 19 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers and a lay-in on consecutive Dixie possessions.
The Wildcats (3-0) clawed back with six-straight points of their own to pull to within three at 19-16, but DSU responded with a 13-4 run, culminating with back-to-back buckets from
Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) and
Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS), which gave the Trailblazers their biggest lead of the game at 32-20 with six minutes to play in the stanza. DSU would extend that advantage to as many as 14 points at 41-27, but CWU's leading scorer Dom Hunter would outscore DSU 9-2 over the final 2:40 of the frame to pare the DSU lead down to 43-36 as the two teams headed for the halftime break.
Dixie State opened the second half with a Zach Hunter lay-up and
Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) dunk and free throw, which bookended three Wildcat free throws, to push the lead to nine points at 48-39. However Dom Hunter would counter with 3-pointers on consecutive CWU offensive possessions to make it a one-score game at 48-45 with 17:32 to play.
Again the Trailblazers would respond, this time with a 9-2 spurt to extend the advantage back to double-digits at 57-47 and they enjoyed a 66-55 lead after a
Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) lay-in with a little under 11 minutes remaining. CWU then got hot from the perimeter as the Wildcats used a 16-5 run, spurred on by a Dom Hunter trey and three Naim Ladd 3-pointers to come all the way back and tie the score at 71-71 with 6:07 to go.
Hill answered with a jumper on DSU's next possession to push the Trailblazers back on top at 73-71, but after two more empty DSU possessions, Ladd struck again with another deep ball to give CWU its first lead of the game at 74-73 with 4:36 on the clock. Hill came right back on DSU's next trip down the court with a 3-pointer of his own to give DSU the lead right back at 76-74.
Dom Hunter pulled CWU even again with a pair of free throws, then after an
Isaiah Clark (Riverside, Calif./John W. North HS) lay-up gave the DSU the lead back, Dom Hunter converted on a conventional three-point play to put his side on top at 79-78 with 3:32 to go.
Hill would again bring Dixie State back as he hit his third trey of the stanza on DSU's next possession to spot the Trailblazers an 81-79 lead. However the Wildcats countered with a Fiquan Niles bucket and a Ladd 3-pointer to race out to their biggest lead of the game at 84-81 with 2:25 to go.
After a Dixie State timeout, Hill knocked down a jumper in the paint and Miller connected for a 3-pointer to stake the Trailblazers to an 86-84 lead with 56 seconds left. Jawan Stepney pulled CWU even with a lay-up with 27 ticks remaining, which gave DSU the ball back with a chance to win the game on its final possession. However the Trailblazers could not get a shot off and the game went to overtime tied at 86-86.
In overtime it was all Wildcats as Terry Dawn hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spot CWU a quick 92-86 lead. Meanwhile, CWU held Dixie State to just two made free throws over the first four-plus minutes of the extra period, and the Trailblazers did not make a field goal until their last possession when Miller hit a trey with 12 seconds remaining. CWU ran out the clock from there to end the game.
"We played better today than we did the last two games, but we've got to learn how to finish games," said Dixie State Head Coach
Jon Judkins. "We've been right there in all our games, but we haven't figured out a way to win. We have to do a better job of executing down the stretch when the game's on the line."
Hill scored 17 of his team-high 22 points in the second half and overtime period and pulled down a game and career-high 15 rebounds to go with six assists. Meanwhile Miller finished with 16 off the bench in his season debut, and Bradley chipped in 14 points and six boards in 11 reserve minutes.
Dixie State shot 41.5 percent (34-of-82) from the floor, including a 45.2 clip in regulation, but the Trailblazers went just 1-of-9 (.111) shooting in the overtime period. DSU also struggled at the line, hitting on only 20-of-36 (.556) from the charity stripe and missed nine free throws in the second half (5-of-14).
Dom Hunter tallied 21 of his game-high 33 points in the second half and finished the game hitting on 9-of-15 from the floor with five 3-pointers. Ladd added 25 points, including 15 – all on threes – in the second half. CWU connected on 12-of-34 (.353) from beyond the arc and went 29-of-71 (.408) from the floor overall. The Wildcats also hit on 29-of-37 (.784) from the foul line.
Dixie State will play Seattle Pacific in the final game of the Classic Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. (PT).
