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OPENING TIP: No. 15/21 Dixie State (5-0/0-0 RMAC) opens its final season of RMAC play this Saturday night against in-state rival Westminster College (5-1/0-0 RMAC). Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENT: Dixie State is 3-3 all-time vs. Westminster, including a split of a two-game set in RMAC play last season, with both sides defending their respective home courts. Westminster posted a 68-64 win in the Trailblazers' RMAC debut (12/1/18) in Salt Lake City, while DSU won the return game in St. George exactly three months later on "Senior Night," 64-51 (3/1/19).
    Prior to last season's RMAC tilts, the two sides had not met since the 2007-08 season when both team split a home-and-home series (at DSU 64, WC 61 - 11/30/17; at WC 77, DSU 66 - 12/8/07). The two teams first met on the hardwood during DSU's first year of NCAA play in the 2006-07 season, with each claiming victory on the other's home court (DSU 67, at WC 65 - 12/1/06; WC 67, at DSU 64 - 12/7/06).

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home games this season 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 coach Mike Olson 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. In addition, links for live-streaming audio and video, and live statistics, for all home and away games are available on the World Wide Web HERE.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State continued its winning ways last weekend as the Trailblazers posted a pair of double-digit victories at the Westminster Classic in Salt Lake City. Five Trailblazers scored in double figures in DSU's tourney-opening 95-73 triumph over Lake Superior State on Friday night, then senior Dason Youngblood tallied a career-high 27 points in the Blazers' 90-78 over Alaska Fairbanks this past Saturday night.

REGIONAL/NATIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State moved up seven spots to No. 15 in this week's D2SIDA Division II media poll, while the first D2SIDA South Central regional poll has not yet been released. Meanwhile DSU broke into the NABC top-25 this week, debuting at No. 21.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 551-254 career record) is in his 15th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 267-126 overall record, including a 247-114 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era.
    Last season, Judkins led DSU to an 18-9 overall record, the program's 11th-straight winning seasons, which includes seven 20-win campaigns, highlighted by a school-record 23 victories in 2017-18, and 22 wins during both the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. He also guided DSU to six Pacific West championships, including four-straight titles from 2009-13 and two more crowns in 2014-15 and 2017-18, 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 10 seasons overall from 2010-19, 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 second Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
    Judkins is joined on the Trailblazer sidelines this season by assistant coaches Jake Schroeder (Portland State, 2006), who returns for his second stint as a DSU assistant coach, Andrew May (BYU, 2010), who joins the DSU program this season after serving as director of basketball operations at BYU, and third-year volunteer assistant coach David Foster (Utah, 2013).

551 AND COUNTING: Coach Judkins became the first men's 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 (551 career wins) is currently second all-time in coaching victories in Utah college basketball history, trailing only 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 RMAC: Dixie State was voted to finish second in the 2019-20 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason coaches' poll released, which was released on Oct. 17. The Trailblazers, which finished tied for second place (16-6) in their RMAC debut last season, return two starters and six letter winners from last season's 18-9 team.  
    Defending RMAC regular season champion Colorado School of Mines received 14 of the possible 16 first place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 224 points, while DSU collected one first place vote and 198 points to finish second. Regis placed third in the poll with 185 points, followed by 2019 RMAC tournament champion New Mexico Highlands (163 pts) in fourth, MSU Denver in fifth (1 first place vote, 156 pts), UCCS in sixth (146 pts), Fort Lewis (131 pts) in seventh and Colorado Mesa (127 pts) in eighth to round out the top-half of the 16-team poll.

LAST SEASON IN THE RMAC: After joining the RMAC in 2018, the 2019 season will mark the second and final season the Trailblazers will be a competing member of the conference. In 2020, Dixie State will begin its transition to NCAA Division I status and will become a new member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). 

"WE'RE GOING STREAKING!": Dixie State's Salt Lake sweep last weekend extended the Blazers' current regular season win streak to an NCAA-era program record 18-straight games, which includes the final 13 regular season games last year.  
    In 2017-18 campaign, the Trailblazers won their final 15 regular season games, and pushed that streak to a school record 17-straight victories in the Pacific West Conference tournament, en route to a program NCAA-era record 23 wins (23-7).
    Under Coach Judkins, DSU has played to a whopping 158-46 (.774) overall record during the final two months of the regular season in the program's NCAA era (13-plus seasons).

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: Dixie State's 5-0 start to the 2019-20 season is tied for the best overall start after five games in the program's NCAA era. In the 2013-14 campaign, DSU began that season 11-0 and won three additional exhibition games to boot, including a season-opening 71-70 exhibition upset of perennial NCAA Division-I power UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center (11/1/13). Dixie State finished that season 21-7 and made the fifth of seven-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 76-66 (.535) all-time against non-conference opponents in 13-plus seasons of four-year competition, which includes its 5-0 start this year, and an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07). Additionally, DSU owns a combined 6-13 postseason record (4-4 PacWest, 0-1 RMAC, 2-8 NCAA).
    With the sweep in Salt Lake City last weekend, DSU has now recorded seven overall season-winning records in non-conference games in its four-year era, 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).

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State moved to 10-4 all-time in 14 Burns Arena debuts as a four-year program with its win over Saint Martin's (11/16), while DSU has won seven of its last eight home openers overall.
    Dixie State clinched its 12th-straight home winning season record in 13 seasons of NCAA competition after the Trailblazers finished the 2018-19 campaign with an 11-4 mark (9-2 RMAC). Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 124-27 (.821) overall record on the home floor under Head Coach Jon Judkins.
    DSU has posted eight 10-plus win seasons during its four-year era, highlighted by a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and 11-1 records in consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: Dixie State finished the 2018-19 season ranked in the top-three nationally at the NCAA Division II level in home game attendance. Last season's accomplishment also marked the 10th-straight season overall that the Trailblazer program has closed a season ranked in the top-10 in the nation in home attendance.
    The Trailblazers posted the third-highest total attendance number in the country at 34,882 fans in 15 home dates, which was also first in both the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the NCAA South Central Region. In addition, DSU finished tied for second nationally (with Fort Hays State) in season attendance average at 2,325 fans per home game, behind only Northern (SD) State, which led the nation in both total attendance (51,526/14 games) and attendance average (3,680).
    Since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State has been annually ranked in the top-15 in Division II in home 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 in 2016-17, fifth in 2014-15, sixth in 2015-16, ninth in 2009-10 and 2017-18, and 14th in 2008-09.
    Dixie State also finished sixth among Utah's eight NCAA member institution in average attendance in 2018-19, behind Brigham Young (191,322/11,958 per game – 16 games), Utah (166,004/11,067 – 15 games), Utah State (104,709/6,981 – 15 games), Weber State (101,326/6,755 – 15 games) and Utah Valley (43,985/2,932 – 15 games). However, DSU did finish well ahead of both Southern Utah (30,830/2,055 – 15 games) and Westminster College (2,317/211 – 11 games).

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 3: Dixie State, which led the RMAC in home attendance last season, played in front of a season-high 4,257 fans in its 69-38 victory over MSU Denver inside the Burns Arena this past Jan. 11. The announced crowd was the fifth-highest Dixie State home game attendance number in the program's NCAA era and the sixth-highest attended regular season game overall. DSU also played in front of an announced crowd of 4,185 (#6 all-time in DSU's NCAA era) vs. CMU back on Feb. 9.
    The school record for home attendance is 4,602 set against BYU-Hawaii during the 2012-13 season (2/23/13), while the most fans to see a DSU regular season contest came in a road game at Utah (9,616) on Jan. 9, 2008. 

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Thanks to its second Salt Lake City weekend sweep of the season last weekend, Dixie State improved to 124-88 (.585) in 212 games away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 96-67 record (.589) in true road games, and a 28-21 mark (.571) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    The Trailblazers, who posted a 7-5 regular season road mark last year, were a combined 14-6 as road warriors in the 2017-18 campaign, 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 10 of its 13 D-II campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.

RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Dating back to late in the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 64-straight games, including eight treys in the season-opener vs. TAMU-Commerce (11/8), and a season-high nine 3-pointers vs. Lake Superior State last Friday.
    Last season, DSU nailed a school record-tying 13 treys at Colorado Mesa (1/25/19), which was followed by 10 more 3-pointers the next night at Western Colorado (1/26/19). That feat marked the first time in the program's NCAA era that Dixie State had made 10 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games. DSU also drilled 11 treys vs. Regis (2/22/19) later in the season.  
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 265 of its last 267 games overall, and in 359 of the program's 363 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 16 times overall, highlighted by a single-game 3FGM school record of 13 first set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

YOUNGBLOOD'S CAREER NIGHT GARNERS RMAC HONOR: Junior guard Dason Youngblood was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his overall performance in the Trailblazers' two wins last weekend.
    Youngblood averaged 17.5 ppg on 68.2 percent shooting (15-of-22) along with 2.0 rpg and 3.0 apg in DSU's sweep at the Westminster College Classic. The junior tallied eight points on 3-of-5 shooting with three assists and one rebound in 19 foul-plagued minutes in the Blazers' 95-73 win over Lake Superior State on Friday.
    Then in Saturday's 90-78 victory over Alaska Fairbanks, Youngblood poured in a career-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, to go with three boards and three assists. He scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, including seven-straight points and nine points overall in DSU's decisive 19-1 run midway through the frame.

MESSED AROUND AND GOT A TRIPLE-DOUBLE: Saturday (11/9) was a good day for senior guard Jack Pagenkopf as he became the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to record a triple-double, going for career-highs of 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in DSU's 100-91 OT win vs. UT-Tyler.
    Pagenkopf scored 11 of his 17 points, including a clutch NBA-range game-tying 3-pointer to force OT, and dished out four of his 10 assists after halftime. The senior averaged 13.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists in two games that weekend en route to RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors (11/12).
    Pagenkopf flirted with another triple-double in last Friday's win vs. LSSU as he finished with a game-high nine assists to go with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He currently leads the RMAC in assists (8.2 apg - 4th-nationally), and is second in assist/turnover ratio (3.4 - 42nd-nationally) and third in rebounding (8.8 rpg - 69th-nationally), to go with his 10.2 ppg average.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Pagenkopf and Coach Judkins have a little more in common after that win vs. UTT on Nov. 9. While the senior guard became the first Trailblazer to post a triple-double, his head coach was the second (and last) Utah State Aggie to achieve the feat with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a home win vs. Pacific (102-73) on March 5, 1988.

2019-20 TEAM NOTES:
* - Pagenkopf's 10 assists vs. UT-Tyler were the most by a Trailblazer player since former DSU guard Mason Sawyer dished out 10 dimes vs. Azusa Pacific nearly four years ago (12/19/15), and it was just the ninth instance in the program's NCAA era that a DSU player had recorded double-digits in assists ... former DSU guard and former assistant coach Jeremiah Barnes owns the school single game assist record with 13 vs. Pacifica (12/4/10).
* - Junior forward Hunter Schofield continued his solid play to open his debut season as he tallied a team-high 16 points with six rebounds vs. LSSU, then went for 10 points, five caroms and a season-high three blocks in the UAF win ... the junior is currently the team's leading scorer (17.2 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (7.2 rpg), while shooting 52.4 percent from the field ... Schofield had quite the debut weekend as he poured in a game-high 20 points with six rebounds vs. TAMU-C (11/8), and led six Blazers in double figures with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 10 boards vs. UTT (11/9).
* - The last time at least six Trailblazers scored in double figures was Feb. 16, 2017, in a road win at Hawai'i-Hilo (98-65; 2/16/17).
* - DSU also had five players score in double figures vs. LSSU last Friday, marking the first time that has happened since a late last season in an 89-73 home win over Regis (2/22/19).
* - Two of the three Trailblazers who reached double figures in the LSSU win did so off the bench as seniors Cameron Chatwin (5-of-9) and Andre Wilson (4-of-8, two 3FG) poured in 13 and 12 points, respectively, on a combined 9-of-17 shooting.
* - Freshman guard Frank Staine (14.0 ppg/3.4 rpg) has made an immediate impact, scoring in double figures in each of his first five starts ... the freshman nailed three 3-pointers en route to 17 points with three rebounds and two assists in his collegiate debut vs. TAMU-C (11/8), then went for 10 points with two more dimes in the UTT win (11/9) ... Staine tallied 14 points with career highs of seven rebounds, six assists (no turnovers) and three steals in his home debut vs. Saint Martin's last Saturday ... he followed that up with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three more treys and four boards vs. LSSU, and scored 14 points with two 3-pointers the next night vs. UAF.
* - Sophomore Josh Newbold enjoyed a break out night vs. Saint Martin's (11/16) as he poured in a team and career-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting in 19 reserve minutes ... Newbold scored 12 of his 22 points after halftime and he finished with four boards and two assists.  
* - It was all about the number "3" for freshman guard Lleyton Parker vs. Saint Martin's (11/16) as he tallied three points on a 3-pointer, with three rebounds, three assists and three steals, in 15 minutes off the bench.
* - DSU reserves have outscored their opponent's reserves by a collective 147-93 count through five games this season, including a 33-14 edge vs. SMU (11/16) and a 32-10 count vs. UAF last Saturday.
* - After missing the LSSU win due to a minor injury, sophomore forward Jacob Nicolds scored a career-high eight points on 4-of-4 shooting with one assist in just five minutes vs. UAF ... sophomore guard Mark Hatch made is Trailblazer debut late in the LSSU win and hit his lone shot - a 3-pointer ... junior forward Jarod Greene averaged 5.5 points last weekend, highlighted by a six-point night on 2-of-2 shooting, both from the field and the foul line, with two dimes and block vs. LSSU.
* - DSU's 100-point night vs. UT-Tyler (100-91, 11/9) snapped a string of 65-straight games that the Blazers had not reached the century mark on the scoreboard ... the last time DSU scored 100-plus points was in a 102-66 blowout win vs. Chaminade (02/04/17) during the 2016-17 season.
* - For the first time in more than three full seasons, Dixie State managed to score 90-plus points in back-to-back games, doing so in both wins vs. Lake Superior State (95) and Alaska Fairbanks (90) last weekend ... the last time the Trailblazers accomplished that feat was late in the 2015-16 season when DSU tallied 93 points in a 93-65 win over Fresno Pacific (2/13/16), followed by a 91-point night in a 91-67 triumph over Holy Names (2/15/16).  
* - The overtime win vs. UT-Tyler (11/9) came in the 30th overtime game in the program's NCAA era (363 games overall) ... DSU is 19-11 all-time in overtime games and has won four-straight OT games overall, including a 96-91 win at Western Colorado last season (1/26/19) ... Four of those 30 games have gone to double-overtime (2-2), the last was a 79-75 loss at Cal Poly Pomona (11/10/17) in the 2017-18 season opener.
* - Dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 48 of its last 89 games decided by nine points or less, including the first three games this season, 14 of 30 games in 2017-18, and in 11 of 27 games last season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 30 of its last 83 games overall, including a season-best 55.9 percent clip (38-of-68) vs. UT-Tyler (11/9), and both wins last weekend vs. LSSU (50.0%) and UAF (55.6%).
* - DSU has dished out 110 assists (22.0 apg) to just 52 turnovers (10.4 tpg) through the first five games of the year, including season-highs of 25 assists and season-lows of eight miscues against both Saint Martin's (11/16) two weeks ago and UAF last Saturday ... prior to the SMU feat, the 25 Trailblazer dimes were the most in a game since DSU dished out 25 assists in a win over Academy of Art during the 2015-16 season (W, 98-68; 2/11/16).
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in four of its first five games of the year, highlighted by a season-best +19 margin (46-27) vs. LSSU last Friday, and in 46 of its last 59 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign ... Dixie State posted a school record +36 rebounding margin vs. Colorado Christian last season (58-22, 2/23/19), including a 20-3 count on the offensive glass, which marked the eighth time last season that the Trailblazers had posted a double-digit advantage on the boards ... the 58 total rebounds vs. CCU were also the third-most in the program's NCAA-era.

ABOUT THE WESTMINSTER COLLEGE "GRIFFINS": Westminster has faced the same six opponents Dixie State has during the first three weeks of the 2019-20 season and has played to a 5-1 overall record. The Griffins are coming off a split at their Classic last weekend, defeating UAF by an 89-77 count last Friday, before dropping a 75-71 decision to LSSU this past Saturday night.
    The Griffins feature a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging at least 12.0 ppg. Junior forward Brandon Warr (6-6) is Westminster's top scorer and rebounder through six games, averaging a double-double at 18.3 ppg and 10.3 rpg, while senior guard Jai Jai Ely (6-2) is scoring at a 14.5 ppg clip.

UP NEXT: Dixie State continues its RMAC homestand next weekend as the Trailblazers play host to South Dakota Mines on Friday, Dec. 6, and Black Hills State on Saturday, Dec. 7, in the first trip to St. George for both programs. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena each night is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.