Dixie State saw its slim Pacific West Conference regular season title hopes dashed Monday night as the Trailblazers fell at No. 8/9 Hawai'i Pacific, 76-66, in Honolulu.

DSU (18-7/15-4 PacWest) trailed 44-42 at the intermission after a first half that seesawed back-and-forth with seven ties and 15 lead changes, as well as seven missed Trailblazer free throws.

The Trailblazers reclaimed the lead at 47-44 with five-straight points to open the second half as Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) tied the game with a jumper and Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) nailed a 3-pointer to give DSU the three-point cushion. However the Sharks (25-2/17-2 PacWest) countered with a 12-4 run, capped by a Josh Looney lay-in and free throw, as HPU wrestle back the lead at 56-51 with 15:21 to play.

Dixie State rallied to make a one-point game at 56-55 at the 13:53 mark, but then the Trailblazers went ice cold offensively as DSU went more than seven minutes without a field goal. Meanwhile HPU rattled off a 10-4 spurt over that stretch, as DSU hit just 4-of-7 from the foul line, to extend to its biggest lead of the game at 66-59 with 6:24 to go after a pair of Looney free throws.

Simister finally broke the drought with a big 3-pointer to pull the Trailblazers to within four at 66-62 with 6:05 remaining. DSU's defense then came up with much-needed stops on the Sharks' next two possession, but Dixie State could not capitalize on the offensive end as Hawai'i Pacific held the Trailblazers to just four points the rest of the way to close out the victory.

Simister led the Trailblazers with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two treys, while Bradley poured in 14 of his 17 points in the first half to go along with seven rebounds, and Hill finished with 15 points, seven boards and two blocked shots.

Dixie State shot a blistering 60.0 percent (18-of-30) in the first half, but was held to just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) in the second frame to finish at 48.1 percent (25-of-52) for the game.

DSU was done in at the free throw line as the Trailblazers shot a season-low 44.4 percent (12-of-27) at the stripe, which included eight more missed attempts in the second half. DSU also committed eight second-half turnovers and finished with 15 for the game, compared to just eight HPU miscues. DSU and HPU each finished with 35 rebounds, though the Sharks held a 12-9 edge on the offensive glass.

Looney led all scorers with 24 points, with 16 of those points coming in the second half. The Sharks shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor, including 8-of-33 (.242) from the perimeter, and hit 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the foul line, which was a DSU opponent season-high.

Dixie State will wrap up the 2016-17 regular season at home this Saturday night, Feb. 25, as the Trailblazers welcome Holy Names to the Burns Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. The game will also serve as "Senior Night" as DSU seniors Marcus Bradley (Anaheim, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) and Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) will be honored prior to tip-off.