Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | DUC | CBU
Audio/Video: ESPN Sports Radio 97.7 / Dixie State YouTube
Live Stats: vs. Dominican | vs. California Baptist
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @DIXIESTATEBBALL | #BlazeForward | #PacWestMBB

OPENING TIP: Dixie State (7-6/4-2 PacWest) wraps up its four-game PacWest homestand this weekend as the Trailblazers play host to Dominican (3-9/2-3 PacWest) this Friday night and California Baptist (11-2/4-1 PacWest) the following Monday night, Jan. 8, inside the Burns Arena. Tip-off for both games is slated for 7:30 p.m.

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. (Special note: Monday's game vs. CBU will be broadcast on 890-AM KDXU due to the FBS National Championship game airing on ESPN Radio).
    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 is 8-4 all-time against Dominican and has won three-straight overall in the series, including a 78-59 triumph in the Burns Arena last season (1/11/17). The Trailblazers are 4-1 vs. the Penguins inside the Burns Arena, however this is just the second time the two sides have played in St. George since the 2013-14 season.
    Dixie State owns an 8-6 series lead vs. California Baptist, though the Lancers have won six of the last 10 meetings after DSU had won the first four games between the two programs, including a 93-82 decision last month in Riverside (12/16). Last season the Trailblazers and Lancers traded road wins, with DSU claiming a 75-71 triumph at then-No. 3 CBU in Riverside (12/8/16), while CBU (ranked No. 8 at the time) returned the favor later in the season with a 70-59 victory in the Burns Arena (2/11/17).

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State split the first two games of its homestand, beginning with a rare conference home loss at the hands of Point Loma last Saturday, 74-72. However the Trailblazers managed to avoid the 0-2 start by posting a hard-fought 70-69 come-from-behind victory over Biola this past Wednesday night in a game that saw DSU mount a pair of second-half rallies to escape with the win.

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 (12/20). Three PacWest schools are ranked in the regional poll, including California Baptist (No. 3-overall), Concordia-Irvine (No. 7) and Azusa Pacific (No. 8).
    No PacWest schools are ranked in the top-25 nationally, though CBU (NABC and D2SIDA) has received votes in both national polls.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 512-244 career record) is in his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 228-116 overall record, including a 208-104 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 142-42 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).

512 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 106-23 (.822) 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 last Saturday, the Trailblazers are just as dominant in PacWest action, playing to an 81-12 (.871) record at home through 10-plus 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?: 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 mark 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 two overtime games through its first 13 outings overall.
    Dixie State dropped a 79-75 2OT decision in the season opener at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10), then followed that up with a 99-89 come-from-behind OT victory vs. ENMU (11/17).
    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 27 overtime games (16-11 overall) in 314 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 17-straight games, including a season-high nine treys vs. Point Loma (12/302) 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).
    Prior to the BYU-H game, the last time Dixie State went without hitting a 3-pointer was at home vs. WOU (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 216 of its last 218 games overall, and in 310 of the program's 314 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 last Saturday. Hill (1,224 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 (392) and attempted (615), and is currently ranked second all-time in rebounds (493), FGM (399) and FGA (874), assists (341) and steals (128).

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, 280-of-322) is 53-of-57 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 93.0 percent, which also leads the PacWest and ranks him 11th-nationally.

BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE, THE SEQUEL: After opening the season just 56.6 percent (43-of-76) from the line over its first three games, Dixie State has raised its FT% nearly 12 points to 68.4 (247-of-356) heading into the Dominican game.
    DSU has hit on 71.1 percent of its foul shots over its last 10 games, including a season-best 83.3 percent (30-of-36) effort vs. Dickinson State (11/25), and a 78.0 clip (32-of-41) in the CUI win (12/18).
    Dixie State shot a season-high 43 free throws in the APU victory (12/9) as the Cougars went to the "Hack-a-Blazer" strategy in the second half, however that strategy backfired as DSU hit on nearly 80 percent of those attempts (34-of-43) en route to the 15-point win. 

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 26 of its 40 games decided by nine points or less, including seven of the first 13 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 35 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 44.7 percent from the floor, including 35.9 percent (69-of-192) from the perimeter, while opponents are shooting at a .438 clip (.339 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 nine of their first 13 games this season ... Dixie State is currently ranked fourth in the PacWest in rebounding (40.8 rpg) and fifth rebounding margin (+5.2 rpg).  
* - Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 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 last Wednesday, with 15 of those points coming in the second half, including the game-winning lay-in with 10.7 seconds to play.
    Hill enters this week ranked third in the PacWest and 99th-nationally in scoring at 18.4 ppg.
* - Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) returned to the starting line-up vs. APU (12/9) and picked up right where he left off as he poured in a team-high 19 points and dished out a season-best seven assists ... Simister saw his streak of 53-straight games played halted after he missed the Academy of Art (12/2) game due to minor injury, which snapped his streak of 35-consecutive starts.
* - Simister has scored in double figures in 11 of his 12 starts, including 20 points vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17) and 16 points vs. Point Loma (12/30).
* - Senior G/F Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) has averaged 12.0 points over his last four 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 eight games ago and he has responded by averaging 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds over this current stretch ... Hunter scored tallied a season-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the comeback win vs. Biola, which included the first four points of the game and a big three-point play late in the second half.
* - 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.
* - Price has averaged 7.3 points off the bench over the past eight games, including 10 reserve points at CBU (12/16), to bump his season average to 5.5 ppg ... Price (4.0 rpg) is also averaging 4.8 rebounds a game over his last 10 outings, including a season-high 10 boards vs. Seattle Pacific (11/24).
* - Junior forward Julien Ducree (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) poured in a DSU career-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting at CBU (12/16), then followed that up with seven points, six boards and DSU career-best three blocks in 16 minutes at CUI (12/18) ... Ducree blocked his sixth shot of the year and tallied six points and four boards in the Biola win (01/03).
* - Junior reserve forward Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) filled up the stat sheet in the Biola 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 DOMINICAN "PENGUINS": Dominican comes to St. George having lost two-straight and five of its last seven game, which includes an 84-60 loss at CBU this past Wednesday night.
    The Penguins are led by a preseason all-PacWest pick in senior guard Jeremiah Gray, who is second in the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) while averaging 6.4 rpg.
    As a team, Dominican is averaging 66.5 ppg and 33.7 rpg, while its opponents average 77.4 ppg and 37.3 rpg.

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA BAPTIST "LANCERS": California Baptist, which will play at PLNU on Friday before Monday's game at DSU, has won five-straight, including its 11-point win over Dixie State back on Dec. 16.
    The Lancers boast five players scoring in double figures, led by PacWest Preseason Player of the Year in senior center Kalidou Diouf, who leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.2 rpg).
    As a team, CBU is averaging 85.5 ppg and 44.8 rpg, while its opponents average 70.4 ppg and 33.3 rpg.

UP NEXT: Dixie State hits the road for the first time this calendar year for its annual PacWest Bay Area road swing next weekend. The Trailblazers open the four-game gauntlet run at Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday, Jan. 13, followed by a date at Holy Names on Monday, Jan. 15. Then after a two-day break, DSU will continue the swing at Dominican on Thursday, Jan. 18, before wrapping up the trip in San Francisco with a match-up at Academy of Art on Saturday, Jan. 20.