Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | PACWEST
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OPENING TIP: Pacific West Conference regular season champion No. 18 Dixie State (21-6/18-2 PacWest) will play for its second conference postseason tournament title in six years this weekend as the Trailblazers travel to Riverside, Calif., for the 2018 Pacific West Conference Basketball Tournament. The tournament will be held in the new CBU Events Center on the campus of California Baptist University.
    DSU enters the field as the No. 1 seed and will meet No. 5 Concordia-Irvine in the tournament semifinal Friday night at 7:15 p.m. (PT). No. 2 seed California Baptist, which also earned a first-round bye, will take on No. 3 Azusa Pacific in Friday's first semifinal game at 5 p.m. (PT).
    The two semifinal winners will then square off for the tournament title on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (PT), with the winner earning the PacWest's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament West Regional, which will be held March 9-12.
   
DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: Dixie State's PacWest Tournament run will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State clinched its sixth PacWest regular season title in 11 years of league membership after sweeping both games of its regular season-ending southern California road trip last weekend. DSU laid claim to at least a share of the conference title with a convincing 82-57 win at Biola last Thursday. Then last Saturday in San Diego, the Trailblazers clinched the outright crown in a hard-fought 76-65 win at Point Loma, which pushed the DSU win streak to a program record 15 games.

NO HOLIDAY HANGOVER: Dixie State remains unbeaten through the first two months 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 campaigns. 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 15-game winning streak is now the longest streak in the program's NCAA era, eclipsing the previous record streak of 13 games in 2011-12, which coincidentally, also came PacWest play. That season, DSU went on to win the PacWest regular season title and advance to the NCAA West Regionals.

REGIONAL/NATIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State moved up three spots to No. 18 in this week's final D2SIDA Division II media poll, while DSU is just out of the top-25 (technically No. 26) in the latest NABC D-II Coaches poll.
    In addition, DSU remained fourth in the final official NCAA West Regional rankings released on Wednesday. Dixie State is one of four PacWest schools in the NCAA regional rankings, joining California Baptist (No. 2), Point Loma (No. 5), Azusa Pacific (No. 8) on the list. Dixie State also finished at No. 2 in the final D2SIDA West Region Top-10 poll, which was released two weeks ago.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 526-244 career record) is in his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 242-116 overall record, including a 222-104 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 156-42 record in PacWest play.
    Judkins has led the Trailblazers to 10-straight winning seasons with seven 20-win campaigns, which includes a school-record 22 victories in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. He has also guided them to six 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).

DIXIE STATE AT THE PACWEST TOURNAMENT: Dixie State is 2-4 all-time in five previous trips to the PacWest postseason tournament. DSU is the ONLY PacWest school to appear in all six PacWest tourneys, while this year's tournament marks the third time that DSU enters as the No. 1-seed (2013 and 2015).
    DSU won the inaugural tourney title as the top-seed in 2013 with a semifinal victory over BYU-Hawaii (71-59) and a 92-80 triumph vs. Chaminade in the championship game. DSU was also the top-seed in the 2015 tourney, but BYU-H handed DSU a 98-75 defeat in the semifinal. Last season the Trailblazers entered the tourney as the No. 3 seed but was knocked off in the quarterfinals by PLNU, 71-69.
    One other interesting PacWest Tournament note - since Dixie State won the first league tourney title, four different teams (Chaminade - 2014; BYU-H - 2015; CBU - 2016; HPU - 2017) have won the championship.

526 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.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State put a bow on its 2017-18 home slate with a 9-1 record - all of which came in PacWest play, and in the process, recorded its 11th-straight home winning season record in the program's four-year era.
    Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 112-23 (.829) 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.
    The Trailblazers also closed out their PacWest membership with a dominant 87-12 (.878) record at home in 99 home conference games played over 11 seasons.

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.
    Through DSU's 10 home dates this season, the Trailblazers averaged 2,631 fans per game, which was tops in the PacWest Conference.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: The Trailblazers are a combined 12-5 as road warriors this season, including a 9-4 road mark to go with a 3-1 record in neutral-site games.
    Dixie State is 111-82 (.575) 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 88-62 record (.586) in true road games, and a 23-20 mark (.535) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    In addition, DSU has 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 finished with a 69-30 (.697) road record in its 11 seasons of PacWest league membership (9-1 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 seven of their last eight league campaigns.

FAREWELL TO THE PACWEST: The Trailblazers ended their 11 years of PacWest membership as the conference's all-time winningest program with 156 conference wins (156-42) and a .788 league winning percentage. In addition, DSU's 18 wins in PacWest play this year were not only the most in program history, the win total also tied the conference all-time season record for wins (Hawai'i Pacific in 2017; CBU in 2014).

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Dating back to late last season, Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 31-straight games, including a season-high 11 treys in DSU's Senior Day win over Holy Names (2/19), and nine 3-pointers vs. Point Loma (12/30). In fact. DSU hit of 11-of-21 (.524) from downtown vs. the Hawks, while the 21 attempts vs. HNU were the second-most this season (22 vs. Dickinson State, 11/25).
    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 230 of its last 232 games overall, and in 324 of the program's 328 games NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 13 times overall, and prior to the HNU win last month, the last occasion happened at Chaminade (10 3FGM, 1/23/16), while the single-game 3FGM school record is 13 set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

TRAILBLAZERS PICK UP SIX PACWEST POSTSEASON AWARDS: Senior guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) swept both the Player of the Year and Defender of the Year awards to highlight Dixie State's representation in the 2017-18 Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball postseason honors announcement on Wednesday.
    Hill, along with fellow senior guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS), earned first team all-PacWest honors, while senior forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) was an honorable mention pick. In addition, Head Coach Jon Judkins was named PacWest Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career after he led the Trailblazers to their sixth conference regular season crown in 11 seasons as DSU closed the season with a program-record 15-straight victories.
    Hill is the first player in DSU history to earn the league's Player of the Year award and is DSU's second Defender of the Year (Mark Ogden Jr. in 2016). Hill is also the first player in conference history to sweep both awards, and is now a three-time all-PacWest selection overall, having earned 2015-16 second team and 2016-17 first team accolades. He started in all 27 games this season and currently leads DSU in scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (5.7 rpg), assists 4.9 (apg) and steals (2.1 spg). Additionally, Hill finished the regular season as the PacWest leader in steals with a DSU single-season record 56, which included a DSU single-game record tying six steals in a road win at Dominican (1/18), and he is ranked third in the conference in assists (3rd), seventh in scoring (7th), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 22nd in rebounding.
    Hill scored in double figures in 22 games with five games of 20 or more points, and led the team in scoring and rebounding 10 times, assists 16 times and steals 13 times, and posted a team-high three double-doubles. He earned PacWest Player of the Week honors in November after he became the first player in the DSU's NCAA era to record consecutive 30-point games, which included a school single game record 35 points in a win against Eastern New Mexico (11/17) and 30 points the next night against the top team in the West Region in Western Oregon (11/18).
    The senior is ranked in the top-10 all-time in 13 statistical categories and is DSU's career leader in free throws made (442), steals (159) and assists (409), and is second all-time in scoring (1,397) and rebounding (575). In addition, Hill earlier this month moved into ninth place on the PacWest's career rebounding list.
    Simister, who was a 2016-17 All-PacWest Honorable Mention pick, started in all 25 games he played in this season and is currently DSU's second-leading scorer at 15.0 ppg (T-9th in PWC). He scored in double figures in 21 of his 25 starts with a team-high five 20-plus point outings, and he led the team in scoring 11 times overall. He poured in a career-high 25 points with a DSU single-game record-tying six 3-pointers in a win over Holy Names (2/19), and followed that up with a game-high 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half, in DSU's PacWest title-clinching win at Point Loma last Saturday and earned him PacWest Player of the Week honors.
    He currently leads the PacWest and is ranked 11th-nationally in free throw percentage (.900), which includes breaking DSU and PacWest single-game records with 18-straight free throws made in a win at Concordia-Irvine (Dec. 18), going 18-for-18 overall. Simister is also third in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.4), t-sixth in 3-pointers made with a DSU single-season record 60 (2.4 3FG/G), and is 10th in assists (3.8 apg).
    Simister is DSU's career leader in 3-pointers made (159) and free throw percentage (.869), and is currently ranked fourth in career scoring with 1,097 points. In all, he is ranked in the top-10 all-time in 13 DSU career statistical categories, including second all-time in free throws made (326), third in assists (303) and third in career 3-point percentage (.426).  
    Hunter started in 22 of 27 games played this past season and averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds in PacWest play. He posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 boards in the home win over Holy Names (2/19) and reached double figures in points in 13 games overall.

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: Dixie State has combined to throw down 46 dunks through 27 games this season, this after finishing with 30 dunks in 28 games last season and 32 total throw-downs in the 2015-16 campaign.
    In all, seven Trailblazers have "rocked the rim" this year, led by Hill with 21 dunks, including a pair of "highlight reel" dunks in the Holy Names win (2/19). The first Hill jam, a steal and a breakaway 360 flush, was ranked No. 8 on ESPN SportsCenter's Top-10 Plays of the Day," while his second dunk was an alley-oop off a left-wing lob from fellow senior Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) which opened the second half. Hill also had a steal and breakaway dunk in the first half at PLNU last Saturday.
    Hill, who threw down three dunks in the first half at Notre Dame de Namur (1/13), has 48 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).
* - In all, DSU has posted single-digit turnovers numbers in seven games this season, six miscues in the win over Hilo (2/10).
* - Dating back to last season, Dixie State has had 31 of its last 54 games decided by nine points or less, including 11 of 25 games this year, and the first 12 games of the 2016-17 campaign.
* - On the flip side, 12 of DSU 15-straight victories over this current win streak have been by double figures, highlighted by the 34-point win vs. Hilo (2/10), which is DSU's most lopsided with this season ... the Trailblazers' average margin of victory over the win streak is 15.5 ppg.
* - DSU's 99 points vs. Hilo (2/10) also tied a season-high, the first occasion came in the 99-89 OT win vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17).  
* - Also dating back to last season, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 19 of its last 49 games overall, including wins at NDNU (1/13) and HNU (1/15) to open the Bay Area road trip.
* - In fact, five of DSU's top-six 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) ... The Trailblazers bucked that trend in the HNU home win as DSU shot a season-high 60.0 percent (33-of-55) from the floor, including a sizzling 70.4 percent clip (19-of-27) in the second half.
* - In all, DSU has shot 50 percent or better eight times this season, with seven of those occasions coming on the road ... DSU has also shot 50 percent or better in three-straight games, a feat that has not happened since a four-game stretch between Dec. 8-19 of the 2016-17 season.
* - For the season Dixie State is shooting 46.8 percent from the floor, including 38.0 percent (145-of-382) from the perimeter, while DSU opponents are shooting at .404 FG/.325 3FG clips, both of which leads the PacWest Conference.
* - Speaking of good defense, DSU recorded a season-high 15 steals in the HNU win (2/19), which is also the second-highest single game total in program history ... The Trailblazers also picked off 11 steals at PLNU (2/24).
* - DSU is shooting 68.4 percent (509-of-744) 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 21 of 27 games this season ... Dixie State is currently ranked third in the PacWest in rebounding (40.3 rpg) and third in the league and 34th-nationally in rebounding margin (+5.6 rpg).      
* - Senior G/F Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) has averaged 8.3 points over his last 18 games, highlighted by a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers vs. Point Loma (12/30), and a 14-point night on 6-of-9 from the floor in the HPU win (2/17).   
* - Hunter was inserted into the starting line up 22 games ago and he has responded by averaging 8.7 points and 6.1 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 recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Holy Names (2/19) home win ... Since his insertion into the starting line-up, Hunter has vaulted into fifth on DSU's career rebounding list (432) and he is now seven points shy (757 pts) of cracking into DSU's top-10 career scoring list.  
* - Senior forward Isaiah Clark (Riverside, Calif./John W. North HS) scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds in just 22 minutes in the win at Biola (2/22) ... Clark's career night eclipsed his previous career-highs of 14 points set against both HPU (2/17) and at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10) in the season opener ... Clark leads the team in blocks (22) and has recorded at least one block in 14 of 27 starts this season.
* - Junior forward Dub Price (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) just missed scoring in double figures in both road wins last week, going for nine points against both Biola (2/22) and PLNU (2/24) on a combined 7-of-13 from the floor ... Price scored seven (in-a-row) of his nine points at PLNU during a second-half stretch that helped DSU withstand a huge Sea Lion rally.
* - Junior forward Austin Montgomery (Lilburn, Ga./Lakeview Academy) posted his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting vs. Hilo (2/10) ... Montgomery also poured in eight points off the bench in both wins at Biola (2/22) and at PLNU (2/24).
* - Junior guard Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) provided a spark with seven points and two rebounds in 16 minutes in the Biola win (2/22).
* - Senior guard Daylor Youngblood (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS) filled up the stat sheet to the tune of eight points on 3-of-4 shooting with four boards, three assists and two steals in just 12 minutes vs. Hilo (2/10) ... Youngblood also enjoyed a banner outing on Senior Night vs. HNU (2/19) as he posted career highs in assists (5) and steals (4) to go with six points in 17 reserve minutes.
* - 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.
* - Freshman reserve PG Tarik Cool (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) poured in a career-high tying seven points vs. HNU (2/19) ... Cool also tallied seven points in a home win over Academy of Art (12/2).
* - Overall, the DSU bench has scored 30 or more points 11 times this season, including 39 vs. Hilo (2/10) and 38 at NDNU (1/13) to go with a season-high 43 bench points vs. FPU (1/26).

UP NEXT: The winner of the PacWest Men's Basketball Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament West Regionals, which will be held March 9-12 (site TBA). The 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com this Sunday, March 4, at 8:30 p.m. (MT).