Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | UHH
Audio/Video: ESPN Sports Radio 97.7 / Dixie State YouTube Channel
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OPENING TIP: Fresh off its two-game sweep in Hawai'i, Pacific West Conference-leading Dixie State (16-6/13-2 PacWest) opens its final homestand as a member of the PacWest this Saturday night as the Trailblazers put their 10-game winning streak on the line against Hawai'i Hilo (6-14/5-8 PacWest). Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games are 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 a 15-4 series lead over Hawai'i Hilo and has won four-straight and 14 of its last 16 overall in the series, including a sweep of both meetings last season. DSU is 9-1 all-time vs. the Vulcans in the Burns Arena, which includes a 81-72 home win last season (1/28/17), which also served as Head Coach Jon Judkins 500th-career coaching victory.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State maintained its perch atop the PacWest standings and extended its winning streak to 10-straight by taking both ends of a two-game trip to the Islands last weekend. The Trailblazers opened the swing with a 77-65 triumph at Chaminade Feb. 1, which also extended their streak of double-digit wins to six-straight. However that streak came to an end last Saturday night at Hawai'i Pacific as DSU led by 11 points with under a minute to play in the second half before coming away with a 71-65 result over the Sharks.

NO HOLIDAY HANGOVER: Dixie State remains unbeaten through the first five-plus weeks of 2018, which includes an unblemished 8-0 record in January, with six of those wins coming by double digits. In fact, DSU has played to a 68-21 (.764) overall record in the month of January in the program's NCAA era (11-plus seasons), including a 15-1 mark over the past two seasons. In addition, the eight wins this January eclipsed the previous best win total of seven first set in 2010 and repeated in 2012 and 2017.

"WE'RE GOING STREAKING!": Dixie State's current 10-game winning streak is now the third-longest streak in the program's NCAA era. In the 2013-14 season, DSU rattled off an 11-game win streak, which was bested only by a 13-game win streak recorded during the 2011-12 campaign. That season, DSU went on to win the PacWest regular season title and advance to the NCAA West Regionals. Like this year's current streak, the 2011-12 streak all came in PacWest play, while the 2013-14 win streak happened at the beginning of the year, which also marked the best overall start to a season in the program's four-year era.

REGIONAL/NATIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State is not ranked in either national poll this week, though the Trailblazers came up just four votes short of entering the D2SIDA media poll (ranked No. 26 overall). DSU's current win streak has also vaulted the team to No. 2 in this week's D2SIDA West Region Top-10 poll. In all, three PacWest schools are ranked in the regional poll, including California Baptist (No. 4) and Azusa Pacific (No. 10).
    CBU is the lone PacWest school ranked nationally this week, checking in at No. 24 in the NABC poll. DSU also received votes in the NABC poll.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 521-244 career record) is in his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 237-116 overall record, including a 217-104 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 151-42 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).

521 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 109-23 (.826) 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. With the win over FPU this past Jan. 26, Dixie State has now recorded its 11th-straight home winning season record with its current 6-1 mark inside the Burns Arena with three regular season home games remaining.
    Despite the loss to Point Loma back on Dec. 30, the Trailblazers are just as dominant in PacWest action, playing to an 84-12 (.875) record at home through 10-plus seasons of conference play.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART II: Dixie State's overtime win over California Baptist (1/8) 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, the CBU 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.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Thanks to the four-game sweep of its Bay Area road swing, followed by the two-game sweep in Hawai'i, Dixie State has vaulted above the .500 mark away from the friendly confines of the Burns Arena. The Trailblazers are a combined 10-5 as road warriors this season, including a 7-4 road mark to go with a 3-1 record in neutral-site games.
    Dixie State is 109-82 (.570) 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 86-62 record (.581) in true road games, and a 23-20 mark (.535) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    In addition, DSU has now won eight or more games away from home in nine-straight seasons, and in 10 of its 12 D-II campaigns overall, including a program-best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.
    Dixie State also owns a 67-30 (.691) road record in its 10-plus seasons of PacWest league membership (6-1 this season/7-3 in 2016-17). Overall, the Trailblazers have posted a winning conference road mark in nine-straight seasons and have reached the seven-win plateau in six of their last seven league campaigns.

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 22 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 (1/8).
    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 323 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 26-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 225 of its last 227 games overall, and in 319 of the program's 323 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 post 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.

STOP....THIEF!!: Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) tied a school record with six steals in the win at Dominican on Jan. 18. Hill's feat came nearly six years to the day when former DSU guard McKay Massey picked off six steals in a win over Grand Canyon during the 2011-12 season (73-56; 1/16/12). In all, four players have collected six steals in a game, including former DSU guards Ryan Sanchez and Dan Stock, who both etched their names in the record books during DSU's first NCAA season in 2006-07.
    Hill (146) also collected four combined steals on the Hawai'i trip, including three at Chaminade, to move past Sanchez (142) into solo first place on DSU's career steals list.

CHART TOPPER: Hill became just the second player in DSU's NCAA era to reach the 1,300 career-point plateau at Academy of Art (1/20), doing so right on the number with the final point he scored in the second half. Hill (1,336 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. In addition to his steals record, he is DSU's career leader in free throws made (430) and attempted (680). Hill is currently ranked second all-time in rebounds (552), FGM (434) and FGA (976), assists (386), and starts (83). In fact, Hill is 10 assists shy of passing former DSU guard Kimball Payne (395, 2008-14) for the top spot on the program's career assist list, and he could become DSU's all-time leader in starts (passing Robbins - 85 starts) at home on "Senior Night" vs. Holy Names on Feb. 19.

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK: Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) had a trip to remember on his final hop to the Islands in a Trailblazer uniform. The senior guard, who missed the FPU home start due to a minor facial injury which required him being fitted for a protective mask, led DSU in scoring in both wins in Hawai'i.
    Simister opened the trip with a 19-point night at Chaminade with three assists two boards and two steals. He hit on 6-of-12 from the field (3-7 3FG) and went 4-of-4 at the line. Then in the win at HPU, he became the seventh player in the program's NCAA era to score 1,000 career points as he poured in a game-high 21 points on a sizzling 6-of-8 shooting, 4-of-6 from downtown, with four assists, two rebounds and a steal in the win at HPU.
    Simister is also making moves up DSU's career record charts in his own right. Simister is currently DSU's career FT% leader (.869, 311-of-358) and he moved into second place (behind Hill) in program history in FTM (311). In addition, Simister is DSU's single season FT% leader at 90.3 percent (75-of-83), which ranks him first overall in the PacWest and 16th-nationally
    The senior had himself a 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).
    Simister (1,020) enters Saturday night's tilt vs. Hilo needing 19 points pass former DSU sharp-shooter Tom Whitehead (1,038) for sixth on DSU's scoring list, and he needs only three more 3-pointers (143) to vault past Whitehead (145) and become DSU's career 3FGM leader.

IT'S MILLER TIME: Junior guard/forward Wade Miller (Tremonton, Utah/Bear River HS) tied DSU's single-game record with six 3-pointers on his way to a game and career-high 22 points in the FPU win (1/26). Miller hit on 6-of-11 from the perimeter (7-of-13 FG overall) to go with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes off the bench.
    Miller joins three other players who have hit six treys in a game, the last being teammate Brandon Miller (Sandy, Utah/Brighton HS), who nailed six 3-pointers in a home win over Sonoma State last season (64-62; 11/25/16). Former DSU sharpshooter Tom Whitehead achieved the feat twice, the first occasion coming he and Donovan Plunkett both connected for six treys in a road win at HPU (97-86, 2/20/10). Whitehead also had six trifectas in a home win over Pacifica in the 2010-11 campaign (110-41; 12/4/10).
    Bolstered by Wade Miller (Tremonton, Utah/Bear River HS)'s career night, the Dixie State reserves scored 43 of the Trailblazers' 87 points in the FPU win. The 43 points scored were a season-high and were the most bench points scored since early last season when the DSU bench tallied 46 points vs. Central Washington (11/16/16).

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: Dixie State has combined to throw down 37 dunks through 22 games this season, this after finishing with 30 dunks in 28 games last season and 32 total throw-downs in the 2015-16 campaign. The Trailblazers recorded three total dunks in the two games on the Islands, two from junior forward Julien Ducree (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) and another from Hill.
    In all, seven Trailblazers have "rocked the rim" this year, led by Hill with 17 dunks, including three dunks in the first half at Notre Dame de Namur (1/13), and two more in the first half at Dominican (1/18). Hill's three first-half slams at NDNU marked the second time in his collegiate career that the senior had recorded three dunks in a single half. Hill also threw down three second-half dunks vs. BYU-Hawaii as a freshman in the 2015 PacWest Tournament (3/6/15), and the senior has 45 career dunks to his credit (Jr.-13/So.-8/Fr.-7) overall.

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 31 of its last 50 games decided by nine points or less, including 11 of the first 22 games this year, and the first 12 games of the 2016-17 campaign.
* - On the flip side, seven of DSU 10-straight victories over this current win streak have been by double figures ... the Trailblazers' average margin of victory over this stretch is 12.9 ppg.  
* - Also dating back to last season, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 16 of its last 44 games overall, including wins at NDNU (1/13) and HNU (1/15) to open the Bay Area road trip.
* - In fact, DSU's top-three shooting performances this season have come in victories ON THE ROAD, including both games at NDNU and HNU, and a 2017-18 season-best 57.8 percent (26-of-45) at Concordia-Irvine (12/18).
* - In all, DSU has shot 50 percent or better five times this season, with neither occasion coming in the Burns Arena.
* - For the season Dixie State is shooting 45.5 percent from the floor, including 36.4 percent (111-of-305) from the perimeter, while opponents are shooting at a .410 clip (.337 3FG - fifth in the PWC), which is tops in the PacWest Conference.
* - DSU is shooting 67.5 percent (426-of-631) at the line, which is ninth-best in the PacWest ... However, DSU currently leads the PacWest by a wide margin in FTM and FTA.
* - 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 16 of their first 22 games this season ... Dixie State is currently ranked second in the PacWest in rebounding (40.6 rpg) and third in the league and 36th-nationally in rebounding margin (+5.5 rpg).  
* - Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) has scored in double figures in 19 of 22 games this season and has five 20-plus point outings to his credit overall, including a 20-point night at CBU (12/16) ... Hill enters this week ranked seventh in the PacWest and 205th-nationally in scoring at 16.0 ppg.
* - Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) has scored in double figures in 17 of his 20 starts with a team-high four 20-point games, including 20 points vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17), which he matched in the win at Dominican (1/18) to complement his CUI and HPU road outings.     
* - Senior G/F Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) has averaged 8.0 points over his last 13 games, highlighted by a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers vs. Point Loma (12/30) and a 10-point night with three rebounds in the FPU win (1/26).  
* - Senior forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) was inserted into the line up 17 games ago and he has responded by averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 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), and he tallied 11 points and six boards in the win at HPU last Saturday ... Since his insertion into the starting line-up, Hunter has vaulted into fifth on DSU's career rebounding list (403).
* - Forward Dub Price (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) "had a day" in the Azusa Pacific 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 enjoyed another solid outing in the win at Chaminade (2/1), where hit 4-of-6 from the floor for eight points to go with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 13 minutes.
* - Junior forward Julien Ducree (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) continued his solid play off the bench as he has averaged 7.1 points on 70.3 percent shooting (19-of-27) over his last seven games ... Ducree just missed his first DSU double-double in the win at Chaminade (2/1) as the junior finished with career-highs of 11 points and eight rebounds ... Ducree flirted with the double-double again at HPU as he went for nine points and eight more caroms ... in all, Ducree shot 8-of-11 (.727) combined in the two games on the Islands, and for good measure recorded a blocked shot in each outing on the defensive end.

ABOUT THE HAWAI'I HILO "VULCANS": Hawai'i Hilo travels to St. George having won two of its last three, though the Vulcans are coming off an 88-75 loss at in-state foe Hawai'i Pacific this past Tuesday night in Honolulu.
    Senior guard Trey Ingram (6-1, 170) leads four Vulcans in double figures at 16.8 ppg. As a team, Hilo averages 75.0 ppg and 33.8 rpg, while its opponents average 82.1 ppg and 38.6 rpg.

UP NEXT: Dixie State wraps up its 2017-18 home slate with its final two PacWest games inside the Burns Arena. DSU will take Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 17, and will host Holy Names on "Senior Night" Monday, Feb. 19. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m.