Dixie State saw its season-high six-game winning streak come to an end with a 68-64 loss at Point Loma Nazarene Saturday night in the Golden Gymnasium. The loss dropped DSU out of first place in the Pacific West Conference standings as the Trailblazers fell to 11-5 overall, 8-2 in league play.

The first half featured two big runs, the first coming from the Sea Lions (10-6/6-3 PacWest), who broke open an 11-11 game with a 15-6 spurt to bolt out to a 26-17 lead. PLNU would extend the advantage to double digits at 31-21 after a Mike Planeta 3-pointer, one of four Sea Lion treys over that stretch, and the Sea Lions looked to be in control with 6:48 to play until the halftime break.

However the Trailblazers had other ideas as Dixie State answered with a 15-2 run of its own, including 13-straight points, to erase the deficit and take a 36-33 lead after a Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) lay-in with 1:05 to go. Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) poured in six points during the rally, while Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) started the run with a jumper from the left wing and gave DSU the lead (34-33) on a 3-pointer.

Planeta broke the DSU run with a 3-pointer to pull PLNU even at 36-36, but Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) connected on two free throws in the closing moments of the frame to give the Trailblazers a 38-36 lead at the intermission.

Dixie State scored four quick points to open the second half as Hunter hit a jumper just before Point Loma was called for a rebounding foul. DSU kept the ball after the Hunter bucket and Austin Montgomery (Gainesville, Ga./Lakeview Academy) cashed in the extra possession with a lay-in to give the Trailblazers their biggest lead of the game at 42-36.

Point Loma would battle back with a 13-6 spurt to reclaim the lead at 49-48 with 12:37 to play, thanks in part to sophomore point guard Josh Rodriguez, who scored seven-straight points as part of the rally.

Daylor Youngblood (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS) gave DSU the lead back at 50-49 with a bucket with 12:14 to go, but Point Loma countered with a decisive 12-2 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Yusef Shehata and Planeta, to race back out to a 61-52 advantage with 6:30 left.

DSU kept within striking distance as Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) hit a 3-pointer to pull the Trailblazers to within five at 61-56, and Mathews drew DSU to within a basket at 63-61 after an offensive rebound and putback with 1:51 to go.

However that would be as close as DSU would get as Point Loma turned two costly Trailblazer turnovers into points as the Sea Lions extended their lead to seven at 68-61. Hill would go on to hit a trey just before the final horn to provide the final outcome.

"The same thing happened at our place [DSU's OT win vs. PLNU 12-19-16] when we jumped out on them and then they came back, and I thought tonight it was going to be reversed and we were going to come back," DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "[PLNU] is a good team and they play extremely hard. We made some mental mistakes late in the game that hurt us, especially on the defensive end."

Hill finished with a team-high 14 points along with seven rebounds and four assists, while Hunter poured in 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and Mathews and Montgomery wound up with eight points and eight rebounds apiece.

Dixie State shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the floor, including 3-of-14 (.214) from the perimeter, and finished 11-of-17 (.647) from the line. The Trailblazers lost despite turning the ball over just 12 times while outrebounding the Sea Lions by a 40-36 count.

Rodriguez led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting. PLNU connected on 27-of-61 (.443) of its shots and finished 10-of-27 (.370) from beyond the arc.

Dixie State will head north to Irvine to face Concordia-Irvine in a crucial PacWest showdown this Monday night, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. (PT).