Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | ENMU | WOU
Audio/Video: Western Oregon/StretchInternet
Live Stats: vs. ENMU/at WOU
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @DIXIESTATEBBALL | #BlazeForward | #PacWestMBB

OPENING TIP: Dixie State (1-2/0-0 PacWest) continues its seven-game stretch away from home to open the 2017-18 season this weekend as the Trailblazers head to Monmouth to play in the Western Oregon D2 Shootout. DSU opens the two-game tournament vs. Eastern New Mexico (2-0) Friday afternoon, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. (PT), before taking on the host Wolves (2-0) on Saturday, Nov. 18, also at 3 p.m. (PT). Both games will be played inside the WOU New PE Building on campus.
    Live stats and video links for both games this weekend can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action, along with Devin Dixon providing color analysis for all home games. In addition, live streaming video of all DSU home games can be found on DSU Athletics' official YouTube channel at youtube.com/DixieStateAthletics.

THE SERIES: Friday's game vs. Eastern New Mexico will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and the Greyhounds on the hardwood.
    Dixie State is 2-2 in four previous games vs. WOU, with both sides claiming alternating wins on the other's home court. DSU and WOU split the first two meetings in Monmouth to open the series (79-71 WOU win in 2008/78-74 DSU win in 2013), while both sides have also claimed victory in St. George, with WOU winning in 2014 (67-52) before the Trailblazers evened the series with an 82-76 home result last season (11/26/16).

REGIONAL/NATIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State is currently No. 7 in this week's D2SIDA West Region Top-10 poll released on Monday. Western Oregon is ranked No. 2 in the poll, while fellow PacWest members California Baptist (No. 1-overall), Azusa Pacific (No. 5)Point Loma (No. 6) and Chaminade (T-No. 8) are also listed.
    In addition, DSU received votes in the NABC Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released on Oct. 31.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 506-240 career record) begins his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 222-112 overall record, including a 202-100 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 138-40 record in PacWest play.
    Last season, Judkins led Dixie State to a 19-9 overall record, which included a 16-4 (3rd place) mark in Pacific West Conference play, and an appearance in the 2017 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. In 2015-16, Judkins led Dixie State to an 18-9 overall record and a 15-5 PacWest mark, which was good for a t-first place finish in the league standings.
    Overall, Judkins has led the Trailblazers to nine-straight winning seasons with six 20-win campaigns, which includes a school-record 22 victories in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. He has also guided them to five Pacific West Conference championships, including four-straight titles from 2009-13 and another crown in 2014-15, along with a PacWest Tournament title in 2013. In addition, Judkins has led Dixie State to seven trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last eight seasons overall from 2010-17, advancing all the way to the "Sweet 16" in the 2011 West Regional final.
    Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, Judkins served as head coach at Snow College for 12 full seasons and posted a 284-128 overall record. He led the Badgers to a pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 1999 and 2000, which earned him SWAC Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one season at Dixie State before transferring to Utah State, where he became the first (and only) Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament bid.
    Judkins is joined on the bench this season by former DSU player and fifth-year assistant coach Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), along with former DSU standout guard Jeremiah Barnes (Dixie State, 2011), who is in his first season on the DSU sideline, and first-year volunteer assistant coach David Foster (Utah, 2013).

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SECOND IN THE PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish second in the 2017-18 Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll released on Oct. 26. California Baptist received 10 of a possible 14 first place votes and 178 total points to be tabbed as the PacWest preseason favorite.
    DSU, which is in its last season of PacWest play before the program moves on the RMAC next season, collected two first place votes and 169 points to claim the second spot, while Point Loma picked up the final two first place votes and 161 points to take the third slot in the poll. Concordia-Irvine (154 points) was voted to finish fourth, followed by Azusa Pacific (142) in fifth, Chaminade (132) in sixth, and defending PacWest champion Hawai'i Pacific (121) rounded out the top-half of the poll in seventh.
    For the second-consecutive season, Dixie State senior guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) was named to the PacWest Preseason all-Conference team, while CBU senior center Kalidou Diouf was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State opened the 2017-18 campaign on a sour note as the Trailblazers dropped two of three against CCAA opponents last weekend in southern California. DSU began the trip with a split of two games at the 2017 CCAA/PacWest Challenge played at Cal Poly Pomona, beginning with a double-overtime setback vs. the host Broncos on Nov. 10, followed by a 69-63 victory over UC San Diego on Nov. 11. Dixie State then were felled by a late rally in a 77-75 loss at Cal State LA this past Monday night as the Trailblazers saw a seven-point lead evaporate over the final four minutes of play.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 65-61 (.516) all-time against non-conference opponents in its 11-plus seasons of four-year competition, which includes a 1-2 mark this year, an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07), and a combined 4-11 postseason record (2-4 PacWest, 2-7 NCAA).
    DSU has posted six overall season-winning records in non-conference games over that span, including a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4). 

AGAINST THE CCAA/GNAC: Following last weekend's season-opening road trip, Dixie State is 8-15 (.348) all-time vs. the CCAA, including a 2-5 mark in its last seven games against that league overall. On the flipside, the Trailblazers are 34-13 (.723) all-time against current members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. DSU will face two GNAC members over the next couple weeks, beginning with Saturday's game at WOU. Dixie State will also play GNAC member Seattle Pacific next weekend in Salt Lake City (at Westminster College tourney).
IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: Dixie State is now 6-6 all-time in season openers during the program's Division II era after its loss at CPP on Nov. 11. Despite having now lost two-straight season openers, DSU has won four of its last six, and six of its previous 10 overall.
HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State posted its 10th-straight home winning season record after recording an 11-1 mark inside the Burns Arena last season.
    Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 103-22 (.824) overall record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, and has posted seven 10-plus win seasons over that span, including a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and an 11-1 mark in the 2015-16 campaign. The Trailblazers are dominant in PacWest action, playing to a 78-11 (.876) record at home through 10 full seasons of conference play.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: For the seventh-straight year, Dixie State finished ranked in the top-six nationally at the NCAA Division II level in attendance for the 2016-17 season.
    The Trailblazers finished with the fourth-highest total attendance number in the country at 31,925 fans for their 12 home dates, which was also tops in the Pacific West Conference and the West Region. In addition, DSU finished third-nationally in season attendance average at 2,660 fans per game, which was up from 2,190 per game over 12 home dates a season ago (26,284 total attendance).
    Since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State has been annually ranked in the top-15 in Division II in attendance, including second-overall in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and third in the country in 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. DSU was also ranked fifth-overall in 2014-15, sixth in 2015-16, ninth in 2009-10, and 14th in 2008-09.
    Dixie State also finished sixth among Utah's eight NCAA member institutions in average attendance in 2016-17, behind Brigham Young (260,569/14,476 per game), Utah (216,914/12,051), Utah State (103,082/6.872), Weber State (89,298/6,869) and Utah Valley (38,218/2,940). DSU did finish well ahead of Southern Utah (23,999/1,846) and Westminster College (4,654/423).

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Last Friday's game at CPP marked just the fourth time in the last nine seasons that Dixie State has opened the away portion of its schedule as a true road team. In five of its last nine seasons overall, the Trailblazers have started their non-Burns Arena slate on a neutral court.
    DSU is 4-8 in its previous 12 true road openers and has won four out its last eight overall, however the last road win over that stretch was a 54-49 win at Point Loma in the 2014-15 season.  
    Dixie State is now 100-79 (.558) away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including an 8-8 record last season (8-5 road/0-3 neutral), and a 9-6 mark in 2015-16. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 79-60 record (.568) in true road games, and a 21-19 mark (.525) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    DSU has won eight or more games away from home in eight-straight seasons, and in nine of its 11 D-II campaigns overall, including a program-best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.
    Dixie State also owns a 60-29 (.674) road record in its nine-plus seasons of PacWest league membership (7-3 last season). Overall, the Trailblazers have posted a winning conference road mark in eight-straight seasons and have reached the seven-win plateau in six of their last seven league campaigns overall.

FREE BASKETBALL: After playing in a school-record five overtime games last season, the Trailblazers opened the 2017-18 campaign with a double-overtime outing at CPP.
    DSU went 3-2 in overtime games last season, 2-1 in PacWest play, including a 104-103 loss at APU (12/10/16), and the Trailblazers' 82-76 overtime home win over Concordia-Irvine (12/3/16).
    DSU also split a pair of overtime games at the Seattle Pacific tournament (11/18-19), which marked just the second time in the program's NCAA Division II era that the Trailblazers needed overtime in consecutive games to decide the outcome, though it was the first time in 10-plus seasons that DSU played two overtime games on back-to-back nights.
    In the 2010-11 season, DSU played consecutive overtime games, both of which were double-overtime affairs, at BYU-Hawaii (W, 99-96 - 2/26/11) and at Hawai'i Pacific (L, 88-93 - 2/28/11), however there was a day off between those contests.
    Dixie State's five overtime games last year eclipsed the previous program-high of four set twice, the first time in the 2013-14 season, and tied in the 2015-16 campaign.
    In all, Dixie State has played in just 26 overtime games (15-11 overall) in 304 total contests in the program's NCAA Division II era. Four of those 26 games have gone to double-overtime (2-2), including the two Hawaiian results in 2010-11, and an 81-80 2OT victory at Concordia-Irvine in the 2015-16 season (1/9/16).

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Dating back to late last season, Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in seven-straight games, this after the Trailblazers saw their streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer halted at 76 games after an 0-of-7 night from beyond the arc in a win at BYU-Hawaii (2/18).
    Prior to the BYU-H game, the last time Dixie State went without hitting a 3-pointer was at home vs. Western Oregon (11/25/14) in the second game of the 2014-15 season, which snapped a program-best 127-game streak that encompassed four full seasons and the final 13 games of the 2009-10 campaign. The other two times DSU failed to connect from the perimeter happened on the road at Academy of Art (1/16/10), and at Notre Dame de Namur (2/2/08) during the program's first year of PacWest play.
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 206 of its last 208 games overall, and in 300 of the program's 304 games NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 12 times, the last being a 10-trifecta night at Chaminade (1/23/16), and a school-record 13 3-pointers at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

TEAM NOTES:
* - Dixie State won its 100 non-conference game as an NCAA member in last Saturday's 69-63 triumph over UC San Diego in Pomona.
* - Head Coach Jon Judkins recorded his 500th-career coaching victory last season in Dixie State's 81-72 home win vs. Hawai'i Hilo (1/28/17). The long-time DSU mentor also reached another milestone as he picked up his 200th NCAA-era victory in DSU's 80-75 win at BYU-Hawaii (2/18/17).  
* - Dating back to last season, Dixie State has had 22 of its 30 games decided by nine points or less, including the first three games this year, and the first 12 games of the 2016-17 campaign.
* - Also dating back to last season, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 12 of its last 25 games overall, including a 2017-18 season-best 50.8 percent at Cal State LA last Monday.
* - For the season Dixie State is shooting 45.4 percent from the floor (.383 3FG), while opponents are shooting at a .423 clip (.333 3FG).
* - While DSU's field goal shooting has been solid, the free throw shooting has not as the Trailblazers are just 56.6 percent from the line this season (43-of-76), including a season-low 45.2 percent night (14-of-31) in the opener at CPP.
* - Dixie State pulled down a school record with 62 rebounds in the loss at CPP, which bested the previous school record of 61 set last season vs. BYU-Hawaii (2/2/17).  
* - Senior guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) (1,021 pts) became the sixth player in DSU's D-II era to reach the 1,000-point plateau, doing so on a first-half lay-up in the win over UC San Diego last Saturday. Hill needs just 32 more points to vault all the way up to third on the career scoring list.
* - Hill scored in double figures in all three games last week and leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg).
* - Hill (292) also moved up to second in program history in career assists during the CPP game and now only trails former DSU guard Kimball Payne (395) by 103 dimes on the career list.
* - In all, Hill is ranked in the top-10 in 13 stat categories and is already DSU's career leader in free throws made (332) and attempted (527).
* - Senior forward Isaiah Clark (Riverside, Calif./John W. North HS) had himself quite a season debut in the opener at CPP, during which he notched his first DSU career double-double with career-highs of 14 points and 15 rebounds. He hit on a career-best 7-of-9 shots and posted career highs of three blocks and 40 minutes played.  
* - Clark was the PacWest's top rebounder in week one as he pulled down 26 total rebounds (8.7 rpg).
* - Senior guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) tied a career-high with 16 FG attempts in the CPP game, and went for a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting (2-of-5 3pt) and 6-of-6 at the line in the win over UCSD.  
* - Senior guard Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) pulled down a career-best nine rebounds to go with 13 points in a career-high 38 minutes at CPP.
* - Junior guard Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) nailed a career-high two 3-pointers at CSULA. Mathews also did the job on the glass to the tune of 22 total rebounds (7.3 rpg) over the three games.
* - Junior forward Austin Montgomery (Lilburn, Ga./Lakeview Academy) tied a career-high with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting at CSULA.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will close out its 2017-18 non-conference slate and its seven-game road swing with a pair of neutral-site contests at the Westminster College Thanksgiving Invitational next weekend in Salt Lake City. DSU will play Seattle Pacific on Friday, Nov. 24, at 5 p.m., followed by a date vs. NAIA-member Dickinson State on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 3:30 p.m.