Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | NDNU | HNU
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (9-6/6-2 PacWest) hits the road for the first time this calendar year for its annual PacWest Bay Area road swing this weekend. The Trailblazers open the four-game gauntlet run at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. (PT), followed by a date at Holy Names in Oakland on Monday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. (PT).

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: Dixie State owns an 18-3 series lead over Notre Dame de Namur and has won 17-straight vs. the Argonauts after losing three of the first four meetings. The Trailblazers are 9-2 all-time against NDNU on the Argonauts' home court in Belmont, which includes a 77-72 victory in Gleason Gymnasium last season (1/7/17), though this is just the second meeting between the Argos and Trailblazers on the Gleason Gym floor since DSU posted a 72-54 win on Dec. 5, 2013.
    Dixie State is 7-0 vs. Holy Names, including a 78-60 home win on Senior Night in the Burns Arena last season (2/25/17), and the Trailblazers are 3-0 all-time in Oakland (88-69, 2/20/16; 84-70, 2/2/15; 93-68, 2/14/13).

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State closed out its season-long four-game homestand with two more victories this past week to push its winning streak to three games. The Trailblazers used a pair of 10-0 second half runs to break a 32-32 halftime deadlock on their way to a convincing 71-52 triumph over Dominican (1/5), then closed the homestand with a thrilling 68-65 overtime win over California Baptist last Monday night.

REGIONAL/NATIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State is not ranked in either national poll this week, though the Trailblazers are listed among those receiving votes in the latest D2SIDA West Region Top-10 poll. Three PacWest schools are ranked in the regional poll, including California Baptist (No. 3-overall), Azusa Pacific (No. 5) and Chaminade (No. 8).
    Additionally, CBU is the lone PacWest representative in either national top-25 poll (No. 24 in the NABC, No. T-23rd in the D2SIDA), which were each released this past Tuesday after Dixie State's overtime victory over the Lancers.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 514-244 career record) is in his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 230-116 overall record, including a 210-104 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 144-42 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).

514 AND COUNTING: Head Coach Jon Judkins became the first men's basketball coach in Utah collegiate basketball history to reach the 500-win plateau when Dixie State defeated Hawai'i Hilo (81-72) back on January 28, 2017.
    Coach Judkins is currently ranked second all-time in coaching victories in Utah college basketball history behind legendary University of Utah head women's coach Elaine Elliott, who amassed 582 career wins (582-234) in 27 seasons on the Utes' sideline.

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 to 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.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 108-23 (.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 11-1 records in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. Last season, Dixie State recorded its 10th-straight home winning season record with its 11-1 mark inside the Burns Arena.
    Despite the loss to Point Loma to open the homestand back on Dec. 30, the Trailblazers are just as dominant in PacWest action, playing to an 83-12 (.873) record at home through 10-plus seasons of conference play.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART II: Dixie State's overtime win over California Baptist this past Monday night was played in front of a season-high 4,110 fans inside the Burns Arena, which is the sixth-largest crowd to attend a DSU home game since the program's move to NCAA competition.
    In fact, Monday night's game marked the ninth time in DSU's four-year era that 4,000-plus attended a DSU home game and it was the most attended home game since Dixie State played Azusa Pacific in front of 4,278 fans during the 2013-14 season (1/11/14). DSU's all-time home attendance record is 4,602, which was set vs. BYU-Hawaii on Feb. 23, 2013.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART III: 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?: It took five tries but Dixie State finally recorded its first true road victory of the 2017-18 season with its 87-82 win at Concordia-Irvine (12/18). The Trailblazers are a combined 4-5 away from the Burns Arena this season, including a 3-1 record in neutral-site games to go with a 1-4 road mark.
    Dixie State is 103-82 (.556) 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 80-62 record (.563) in true road games, and a 23-20 mark (.535) 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 61-30 (.670) road record in its 10-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 have begun the 2017-18 campaign with three overtime games through its first 15 outings this season.
    Dixie State dropped a 79-75 2OT decision in the season opener at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10), which was followed by a 99-89 come-from-behind OT victory vs. ENMU (11/17), and the Trailblazers' 68-65 win over CBU last Monday.
    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 28 overtime games (17-11 overall) in 316 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 19-straight games, including a season-high nine treys vs. Point Loma (12/30) and eight more at Western Oregon (11/18).
    Last season, 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 (2/18/17).
    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 218 of its last 220 games overall, and in 312 of the program's 316 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.

30 FOR 30: Senior guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) became the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to posted consecutive 30-point games, doing so in both starts at the Western Oregon-hosted D2 Shootout Nov. 17-18.   
    Hill poured in a career-high and DSU single-game record 35 points, 23 of which came after halftime, in the Trailblazers 99-89 come-from-behind overtime victory vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17). He then followed that up the next day with 30 points in the road loss at WOU (11/18). Hill's efforts also earned him PacWest Player of the Week honors (11/20).
    In addition, Hill is just the second player in the program's four-year history to record multiple 30-point outings in a single season, joining former DSU player and assistant coach Ryan Sanchez, who achieved the feat twice during in the 2007-08 season. Sanchez scored 32 points on two separate occasions that season, the first came in a 107-83 home win over Colorado-Colorado Springs (12/1/07), and again in a 74-72 triumph at Notre Dame de Namur (2/1/08).
    In all, five DSU players have reached or surpassed the 30-point plateau in the program's 11-plus years of NCAA play, the last being former DSU forward Josh Fuller, who tallied 30 points in a 78-73 home win over WOU last season (11/26/16). Former DSU guard Donovan Plunkett also scored 30 points in a game at Grand Canyon (1/30/10), and former DSU forward Steven Larson held the previous DSU single-game record with 33 points in a 66-61 road win at Notre Dame de Namur on Feb. 16, 2013. Additionally, Dixie State is 5-2 all-time in games when a DSU player scores 30 or more points.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) became just the second player in DSU's NCAA era to reach the 1,200 career-point plateau he scored on an offensive board and put back four minutes into the second half vs. Point Loma (12/30). Hill (1,255 points) now only trails former DSU great Zach Robbins (2009-2015), who stands atop DSU's career scoring list with 1,470 points.
     In all, Hill is ranked in DSU's career top-10 in 13 statistical categories. He is already DSU's career leader in free throws made (402) and attempted (631), and he became just the second player in program history to record 500 career rebounds (504), doing so in the CBU win (1/8/18). In addition, Hill is currently ranked second all-time in FGM (408) and FGA (906), assists (351) and steals (134).

BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: Senior guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) had himself a career night in the win at Concordia-Irvine (12/18) as he tied a career-high with 24 points, which included a school single-game record 18-of-18 effort at the free throw line.
    Simister's perfect night at the line broke the previous DSU single-game record for free throws made, which was 14 set by current DSU associate head coach Kasey Winters at Hawai'i-Hilo during the 2007-08 season, while he barely missed tying the PacWest FTM record (19). Meanwhile, Simister's 18-straight free throws made in a game broke a DSU and PacWest record (previous PWC was 16-straight), and just missed the NCAA Division II record for FT% (min. 20 attempts) first set by Forrest "Butch" Meyeraan at Minnesota State-Mankato (20-of-20, 1.000) in 1961, and tied by Milosh Pujo of Lewis University (20-of-20, 1.000) in 1997.
    Simister, who is DSU's career FT% leader (.869, 286-of-329) is 59-of-64 at the line this season and now has enough FT makes to vault to the top spot on DSU's single-season FT% list at 92.2 percent, which also leads the PacWest and ranks him 13th-nationally.

TEAM NOTES:
* - Dixie State broke a school single-game record with a program-low three total turnovers in the loss at California Baptist (12/16) ... the previous program low was four, first set vs. Notre Dame de Namur (1/25/10), and was tied last season at home vs. CBU (2/11/17).
* - Dating back to last season, Dixie State has had 27 of its 42 games decided by nine points or less, including eight of the first 15 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 14 of its last 37 games overall, including a 2017-18 season-best 57.8 percent (26-of-45) in the Concordia-Irvine road win (12/18).  
* - For the season Dixie State is shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, including 35.2 percent (77-of-219) from the perimeter, while opponents are shooting at a .425 clip (.335 3FG).
* - Dixie State pulled down a school record with 62 rebounds in the loss at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10), which bested the previous school record of 61 set last season vs. BYU-Hawaii (2/2/17).
* - The Trailblazers have won the "Battle of the Boards" in 11 of their first 15 games this season ... Dixie State is currently ranked second in the PacWest in rebounding (41.6 rpg) and fourth rebounding margin (+5.7 rpg).  
* - Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) has scored in double figures in 14 of 15 games this season and has five 20-plus point outings to his credit overall, including a 20-point night at CBU (12/16) ... Hill was held to just eight points in the loss to PLNU (12/30), but came back with a game-high 18 points vs. Biola (1/3), with 15 of those points coming in the second half, including the game-winning lay-in with 10.7 seconds to play ... he then one-upped that performance with a game-high 16 points - 14 points after halftime - in the OT win vs. CBU, which included a highlight reel steal and dunk with 1:04 to go in OT to seal the victory.
    Hill enters this week ranked third in the PacWest and 107th-nationally in scoring at 18.0 ppg.
* - Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) has scored in double figures in 12 of his 14 starts, including 20 points vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17) and 16 points vs. Point Loma (12/30) ... Simister tallied 14 points and dished out a career-high tying eight assists in the OT win over CBU last Monday.  
* - Senior G/F Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) has averaged 9.5 points over his last six games, highlighted by a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers vs. PLNU (12/30) and a 16-point outing in the win at Concordia-Irvine (12/18).
* - Senior forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) was inserted into the line up 10 games ago and he has responded by averaging 8.7 points and 6.4 rebounds over this current stretch ... Hunter tallied a season-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the comeback win vs. Biola (1/3), which included the first four points of the game and a big three-point play late in the second half ... Hunter also just missed notching his first double-double of the year against both Dominican (8p/9r) and CBU (11p/9r).  
* - Forward Dub Price (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) "had a day" in the APU win (12/9) as the junior poured in a career-high 13 points - all in the first half - to spark a big Trailblazer run to close the frame ... Price scored nine of his 13 points as part of a 21-6 rally that put DSU up 41-31 at the halftime break.
* - Junior F/C Austin Montgomery (Lilburn, Ga./Lakeview Academy) posted his fourth double-digit scoring game of the year with 10 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting in the CBU win last Monday ... Montgomery also collected nine rebounds, two assists and a timely blocked shot with six seconds to play in overtime to clinch the win.
* - Junior forward Julien Ducree (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) tied a career high with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with two rebounds and a block in 12 reserve minutes vs. Dominican (1/5).
* - Junior reserve forward Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) filled up the stat sheet in the Biola (1/3) win to the tune of seven points, five rebounds and three steals with a block and an assist in 19 minutes.
* - Junior guard Wade Miller (Tremonton, Utah/Bear River HS) enjoyed a break-out game in the win over Dickinson State (11/25), during which the junior sharpshooter nailed a career-best three 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 11 points in 12 reserve minutes ... Miller also pulled down a career-high five rebounds against the "other" DSU.

ABOUT THE NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR "ARGONAUTS": Notre Dame de Namur heads into Saturday's game having lost four-straight and six of its last seven, including being swept in all three games on its Hawaiian road swing last week at Hawai'i Hilo (65-73, 1/3), at Chaminade (53-67, 1/5) and at Hawai'i Pacific (62-74, 1/7).
    The Argonauts boast two player averaging double figures, led by junior guard Rodriguez Louis (6-2, 175) at 12.4 ppg. As a team, NDNU is averaging 59.3 ppg and 29.7 rpg, while its opponents average 74.4 ppg and 35.7 rpg.

ABOUT THE HOLY NAMES "HAWKS": Holy Names, which will play at Academy of Art on Saturday before Monday's game at DSU, has won three of its last five regular season games overall, including PacWest road wins at Fresno Pacific (76-63, 12/18) and at Hawai'i Pacific (79-78, 1/5).
    Four Hawks are currently averaging double figures, with junior guard Alonzo Taylor (6-3, 160) leading the way at 12.9 ppg. As a team, HNU is averaging 69.5 ppg and 32.6 rpg, while its opponents average 73.4 ppg and 38.6 rpg.

UP NEXT: Dixie State concludes its NorCal road swing next week with a rematch at Dominican in San Rafael on Thursday, Jan. 18, before wrapping up the trip in San Francisco with a return game at Academy of Art on Saturday, Jan. 20.