Dixie State was felled in the final game of its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference debut three-game road swing by a 91-70 count at Black Hills State Saturday night inside the Young Center.

BHSU swarmed the Trailblazers (3-3/1-2 RMAC) from the opening tip as the Yellow Jackets bolted out to a quick 13-2 lead just three minutes in thanks to the hot shooting hand of Makaleb McInnis, who hit his first three shots – all from the perimeter, to stake his side to a double-digit lead.

DSU managed to cut the deficit to nine points on a couple of occasions, but Black Hills State proved to be too much as it extended its lead to as many as 25 points before settling for a 52-30 halftime advantage. The Yellow Jackets (4-3/3-0 RMAC) maintained at least a 15-point lead throughout the second half as BHSU cruised to the 21-point win.

Senior Julien Ducree led three Trailblazers in double figures with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench to go with four rebounds and three steals. Junior Matt Conway added 11 points and senior Dub Price poured in 10 points with a team-high six boards.

Dixie State connected on 43.3 percent (26-of-60) of its shot attempts, which included a 25.0 clip (4-of-16) from the perimeter, and hit on a season-best 87.5 percent (14-of-16) at the foul line. The Blazers also outrebounded BHSU by a 36-29 count.

McInnis led all scorers with 20 points as four of the Yellow Jackets five starters each scored in double figures. Black Hills State drilled a DSU-opponent season-high 15 3-pointers (15-of-34, .441) and shot an even 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the floor for the game. The Yellow Jackets also went to the line 31 times and hit on 24 of those attempts (.774).

Dixie State returns to the Burns Arena for the final time in the 2018 calendar year as the Trailblazers begin the home portion of their RMAC schedule next weekend. DSU will play host to regionally-ranked New Mexico Highlands on Friday, Dec. 14, followed by a match-up against Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday, Dec. 15. Tip-off for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.