Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | MSUD | CSC
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (4-7/2-5 RMAC) returns to the Burns Arena for its only two January home games this weekend. The Trailblazers play host to MSU Denver (6-5/4-3 RMAC) on Friday, Jan. 11, before taking on Chadron State (6-7/4-3 RMAC) on Saturday, Jan. 12. Tip-off for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.

THE SERIES: While the two sides have not met since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State enters Friday's game vs. MSU Denver looking for its first win the brief series after the Roadrunners claimed the previous two meetings. Both DSU losses to MSUD came on the road in Denver, including a 93-71 setback (11/16/07) during the 2007-08 season, followed by a 73-59 loss to the Roadrunners on Dec. 6, 2008.   
    Saturday's game vs. Chadron State will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Eagles on the basketball court.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home games are broadcast live on DSU's campus radio station, 91.3 KXDS-FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action and former DSU assistant Mike Olson coach providing color commentary.
    Along with the radio coverage, all DSU home games are simulcast on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22), with tape-delay rebroadcasts throughout the following week.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State saw its skid reach four-straight as the Trailblazers began the 2019 calendar year on the wrong end of a two-game sweep in Colorado last weekend. DSU opened the trip with a tough 77-74 loss at Colorado-Colorado Springs last Friday after the Mountain Lions erased a late Blazer lead and clinched the game with a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play.
    DSU then quickly turned around the next night and dropped a 93-75 decision at RMAC-leading Colorado School of Mines. After battling back and forth over the first 30-plus minutes of play, the Trailblazers saw the Orediggers rattle off a decisive 18-6 run to turn a 60-57 Mines lead in to a 78-63 cushion and CSM never looked back.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 532-252 career record) is in his 14th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 248-124 overall record, including a 228-112 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era.
    Judkins has led the Trailblazers to 10-straight winning seasons with seven 20-win campaigns, which includes a school-record 23 victories last season, and 22 wins during both the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. He also guided DSU to six PacWest championships, including four-straight titles from 2009-13 and two more crowns last season and in 2014-15, along with PacWest Tournament titles in 2013 and 2018. In addition, Judkins has led Dixie State to eight trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last nine seasons overall from 2010-18, 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 again this season by former DSU player and sixth-year assistant coach Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), along with former DSU standout guard Jeremiah Barnes (Dixie State, 2011), who is in his second season on the DSU sideline, and second-year volunteer assistant coach David Foster (Utah, 2013).

532 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 third 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. Meanwhile, current Salt Lake CC head women's basketball coach Betsy Specketer is second all-time with 534 career victories (534-193) in 22-plus seasons on the Bruins' bench.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED FOURTH IN THE RMAC: Dixie State was voted to finish fourth in the 2018-19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason coaches' poll released on Oct. 23. The Trailblazers, who made their RMAC debut earlier this month at Westminster College, received two first place votes and 185 points in the poll.  
    Defending RMAC tournament champion Regis received eight out of a possible 16 first-place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 216 points, while Colorado School of Mines collected four first-place nods and 203 points to finish second in the poll. Fort Lewis, which won the 2017-18 RMAC regular season crown, picked up two first-place votes to finish third with 199 points, followed by DSU in fourth, MSU Denver (156 pts) in fifth, Westminster (141 pts) in sixth, Colorado-Colorado Springs (147 pts) in seventh, and Black Hills State (116 pts) in eighth to round out the top-half of the 16-team poll. 

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 71-65 (.522) all-time against non-conference opponents in its 12-plus seasons of four-year competition, which includes a final 2-2 non-league mark this year and an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07). Additionally, DSU owns a combined 6-12 postseason record (4-4 PacWest, 2-8 NCAA).
    DSU (5-4 in 2017-18) has posted six overall season-winning records in non-conference games over that span, including a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4).

AGAINST THE RMAC: Prior to its RMAC debut at Westminster back on Dec. 1, Dixie State had squared off against nine of the 15 member schools in non-conference action and played to a 13-14 (.481) overall non-conference record in 27 combined games. Out of those nine schools, the Trailblazers have faced Colorado Mesa (eight times) the most of any other RMAC school and have posted a 4-4 mark against the Mavericks overall.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 115-25 (.821) overall record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, which includes a 3-2 mark this year. DSU has posted seven 10-plus win seasons over that span, highlighted by a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and 11-1 records in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.
    Dixie State played to a 9-1 home record last season - 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.
    The Trailblazers 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 2: For the ninth-straight year, Dixie State's men's basketball program finished ranked in the top-10 nationally at the NCAA Division II level in attendance for the 2017-18 season.
    The Trailblazers posted the ninth-highest total attendance number in the country at 26,309 fans in just 10 home dates, which was also second in the Pacific West Conference and the NCAA West Region. In addition, DSU finished second-nationally in season attendance average at 2,630 fans per game, behind only Northern (SD) State, which led the nation in both total attendance (55,980/15 games) and attendance average (3,732).
    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 fourth-overall last year, fifth 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 2017-18, behind Brigham Young (227,692/14,230 per game), Utah (199,077/11,710), Utah State (104,159/6,943), Weber State (101,683/6,778) and Utah Valley (58,027/3,413). However, DSU did finish well ahead of Southern Utah (33,518/2,394) and Westminster College (4,345/289).

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State is currently 114-88 (.564) in 202 games away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 90-67 record (.573) in true road games, and a 24-21 mark (.533) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    The Trailblazers were a combined 14-6 as road warriors last season, including a 10-4 road mark to go with a 4-2 record in neutral-site games. 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 last season/7-3 in 2016-17).

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 last 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; California Baptist in 2014).

RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Dating back to late in the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 45-straight games, including a season-high seven trifectas against both Cal Poly Pomona (7-of-17, .412; 11/17) and Academy of Art (7-of-19, .368; 11/23). That streak looked like it was going to end at Saint Martin's (12/18) as the Blazers were just 1-of-13 (.077) from downtown, with the lone trey coming off the hands of junior Jack Pagenkopf in the second half.
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 244 of its last 246 games overall, and in 338 of the program's 342 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 13 times overall, the last occasion happened vs. Holy Names (11 3FGM, 2/19/18), while the single-game 3FGM school record is 13 set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Also of note, the Trailblazers attempted 19 3-point shots at Westminster College (12/1), while the Griffins took 18 shots from beyond the arc. That slim stat "victory" for the Trailblazers broke a string of 101-straight games that saw DSU opponents attempt more 3-points shots in a game. In fact, Dixie State opponents have taken more 3-point shots all but four games since the 2012-13 season (177 games) and in 303 of DSU's 342 games in the program's NCAA era.

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: Dixie State combined to throw down 51 dunks in 30 games last season, this after finishing with 30 dunks in 28 games in 2016-17, and 32 total throw-downs in the 2015-16 campaign.
    In all, seven Trailblazers "rocked the rim" last year, led by DSU All-American and PacWest Player/Defender of the Year Trevor Hill with 23 dunks, including "highlight reel" steal and breakaway dunk in the Holy Names win (2/19), which was ranked No. 8 on ESPN SportsCenter's "Top-10 Plays of the Day."
    It took nearly five full games, but DSU finally recorded its first dunk of the year in the closing moments of DSU's win at South Dakota Mines (12/7) when junior guard Jack Pagenkopf picked off his second steal of the night and was credited with a breakaway dunk to seal the Blazer win. In all, DSU has 10 dunks this season, with senior forward Julien Ducree leading the way with eight throw-downs, all of which have come over Dixie State's last six games.

TEAM NOTES:
* - Junior forward Matt Conway has scored in double figures in nine of his first 11 games with five 20-plus point outings, including a 24-point night at UCCS (on 8-of-12 shooting), followed by 21 more points (on 8-of-13 shooting) the next night at Mines.
*- Conway's 24 points at UCCS was one off of his career high of 25 set earlier this season in the home win vs. Western Oregon (11/24) ... the junior also poured in 23 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-12 at the line in his RMAC debut at Westminster (12/1).
* - Conway, who his eighth in the RMAC in scoring (16.7 ppg/also 16.7 ppg in RMAC games) and t-24th in rebounding (5.4 rpg), also went for 22 points in the season opener vs. Cal Poly Pomona (11/17), with 13 of those 22 points coming at the foul line as he attempted a game-high 17 free throws ... Conway's 13 FTM are tied for the third-most in a single game in program history, while his 17 FTA are t-fourth on DSU's single-game list, and are the most since former guard Brandon Simister went 18-for-18 (single game school record for makes) on the road at Concordia-Irvine last season (12/18/18).
* - Conway has already gone to the foul line 70 times (with 56 makes) and is shooting an even 80.0 percent at the stripe.
* - Senior G/F Wade Miller made the most of his first collegiate start in the win over New Mexico Highlands (12/14), against which he almost notched his first double-double with 11 points and a career-best nine rebounds ... Miller tied a season high with three 3-pointers against the Cowboys.
* - Miller also struck for a season-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers in the AAU win (11/23), which came on the heels of a 13-point night vs. CPP (11/17) on 5-of-7 from the floor with three 3-pointers in 14 reserve minutes ... Miller's 14 points vs. AAU were the second-most of his career, and he has scored in double figures in four of 11 outings overall this season.
* - Senior Dub Price posted Dixie State's first double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high tying 11 boards in the NMHU win (12/14) ... Price hit on 6-of-7 from the floor and filled the stat sheet with three assists and a career-high tying three steals ... Price also tallied in 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting at Mines last Saturday.
* - Price poured in a career-best 20 points in DSU's win at South Dakota Mines (12/7), against which he connected on 7-of-11 shots with seven caroms, three dimes and three steals ... his career night came almost one year to the day when he posted his first double-digit point outing when he went for 13 points off the bench in a home win over Azusa Pacific (12/9/17).
*- Redshirt sophomore guard Zach Frampton filled the stat sheet to the tune of a career-high 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and his second collegiate block last Friday at UCCS ... Frampton connected on 4-of-6 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the line in 30 minutes of action ... Frampton leads the team in steals (17) and has averaged 2.0 spg over his last five starts.  
* - Dixie State tied a season high with four players scoring in double figures in the loss at Mines last Saturday ... along with Conway and Price, junior guard Andre Wilson poured in a career-best 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting off the bench before fouling out, while sophomore guard Dason Youngblood posted career highs of 10 points and five assists in his second DSU start ... Youngblood also dished out four assists the previous night in a start at UCCS.  
* - DSU also had a season-high four players score in double figures in the loss vs. CSU-Pueblo (12/15), highlighted by a career night for junior reserve forward Cameron Chatwin, who tallied 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a pair of treys and an 8-of-9 effort at the line ... Chatwin also pulled down seven rebounds and blocked a shot in just 19 minutes.
* - Chatwin, who was averaging 11.6 ppg over his last three outings before an injury forced him out of last weekend's RMAC road trip, also enjoyed a solid night in his return to Washington in DSU's loss at Saint Martin's (12/18) ... Chatwin, who played two seasons at SMU before transferring to DSU, went for nine points, four boards, two steals, one block and one assist.
* - Senior forward Julien Ducree enjoyed arguably the best outing of his collegiate career at Black Hills State (12/8), against which he poured in a DSU-career high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 17 minutes off the bench
* - Ducree's 16 points was one off of his overall career-high of 17 he scored against Cal State San Marcos during his sophomore season at Cal State Monterey Bay (1/20/17).
* - Ducree, who is averaging 9.0 ppg over his last six games, posted his first DSU double-double with 11 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) and a DSU career-best 10 rebounds at Saint Martin's (12/18), and had 12 points and three boards at UCCS last Friday.  
* - Ducree has also recorded one blocked shot in three-straight games and in eight of his first 10 outings this season.
* - The Trailblazer reserves combined to score 41 bench points against Academy of Art (11/23), which marked just the fourth time since January of 2015 that DSU tallied 40-plus reserve points ... the Blazers scored 43 bench points in a win over Fresno Pacific last season (1/26/18), and had 46 points in an overtime loss to Central Washington (11/18/16) ... DSU also poured in 51 bench points in a road win at Dominican (1/29/15).
* - In all, the DSU bench has accounted for nearly 40% off the Trailblazers' offensive output and is averaging 27.2 ppg through the first 11 games of the season.  
* - Dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 39 of its last 68 games decided by nine points or less, including 14 of 30 games last year and five of the first 11 games this season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 22 of its last 62 games overall, which includes a season-high .591 clip (26-of-44) last Saturday at Mines, and 55.4 percent (31-of-56) in the New Mexico Highlands win (12/14).
* - DSU shot 50 percent or better eight times last season, with seven of those occasions coming on the road.
* - DSU was held to 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the floor vs. CPP (11/17), which included a paltry 5-of-25 (.200) in the first half ... DSU's 32.8 clip was the second-lowest shooting percentage in a season-opening game in the program's NCAA era, second only to a "cool" 27.6 shooting night in a loss at UC San Diego to open the 2016-17 campaign (11/11/16) ... DSU's best season-opening FG% night came against Colorado Mesa (.552) on 11/8/2013.
* - Dixie State rebounded from a season-low 58.8 percent effort (10-of-17) at the foul line in the win at SD Mines (12/7) with a season-best 87.5 percent night (14-of-16) at BHSU (12/8), which bested the previous season-best mark of 86.1 percent (31-of-36) vs. Western Oregon (11/24) ... the 87.5 percent clip at the line at BHSU is DSU's highest FT% in more than two seasons (74 games), and was the best since DSU connected on 87.1 percent (27-of-31) in a road win at Chaminade (1/23/16) during the 2015-16 campaign.
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in seven of its first 11 games this season and in 31 of its last 40 games dating back to last year ... the Blazers are currently fourth in the RMAC and 90th-nationally in rebounding margin (+3.7).
* - The team's rebounding margin received a huge boost in the NMHU win (12/14) as the Trailblazers outrebounded the Cowboys by a 55-25 count ... the 55-rebound night is tied for the sixth-best single game total in DSU's NCAA era.
* - The +30 rebounding effort vs. NMHU also tied for the second-highest rebounding margin in program history, bested only by a +31 margin posted in an 82-76 overtime win over Concordia-Irvine (12/3/16) during the 2016-17 season ... DSU also recorded a +30 rebounding margin over Hawai'i Hilo during the 2013-14 campaign (W, 97-69; 2/13/14).
* - Here is a head scratcher - Dixie State turned the ball over a season-high 24 times in its 18-point win over NMHU (12/14) ... then the next night, the Blazers committed a season-low 10 turnovers in their 11-point loss to CSU-Pueblo (12/15) ... DSU also averaged just 13.0 turnovers last weekend, which included only 11 miscues at UCCS. 

ABOUT THE MSU DENVER "ROADRUNNERS": MSU Denver enters Friday night's game having won five of its last six games, which includes a home split last weekend vs. Fort Lewis (W, 77-67) and Adams State (L, 62-68). Junior guard Druce Asah (6-4, 190) leads three Roadrunners scoring in double figures at 16.2 ppg while shooting better than 45 percent from the floor (.402 3FG, 33-of-82).

ABOUT THE CHADRON STATE "EAGLES": Chadron State has alternated wins and losses over its last six games, including a home split over the weekend against Adams State (W, 93-86) and Fort Lewis (L/OT, 88-100). Junior guard Michael Sparks (5-10, 155) is one of three Eagles averaging double figures at 13.3 ppg and is CSC's leading 3-point shooter (32-of-80, .400).

UP NEXT: Dixie State heads back on the road for a four-game RMAC road swing, beginning with a date at Colorado Christian on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Lakewood. DSU will then head back to Denver to square off against Regis on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 5 p.m.