No. 15/21 Dixie State opened its final season of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a convincing 74-63 victory over in-state rival Westminster College Saturday night inside the Burns Arena. With the win, the Trailblazers pushed their season-opening winning streak to six-straight as DSU improved to 6-0 (1-0 RMAC), while the Griffins fell to 5-2 (0-1 RMAC).

Westminster began the game on fire from the floor, connecting on six of its first 13 shots with five 3-pointers, however Dixie State withstood the early onslaught as the Blazers only trailed by just four at 19-15 seven-plus minutes into the game.

The Trailblazers then caught fire themselves, scoring seven-straight points as part of a quick 15-4 run to open up a 30-23 lead after the second of consecutive Frank Staine 3-pointers with 6:52 to play in the period. Jarod Greene kick-started the rally with a jumper, while Lleyton Parker knocked down a perimeter three, and Hunter Schofield and Josh Newbold connected with mid-range buckets ahead of the Staine triples.

Dixie State would extend its advantage to 12 points at 38-26 after a fourth Staine trey and the Blazers enjoyed a 40-31 lead at the halftime break. The freshman went 4-of-4 from the perimeter and hit on six of his first seven from the floor overall on his way to 16 first-half points.

DSU kept the momentum to begin the second half, outscoring the Griffins 11-2 to begin the frame to open up an 18-point cushion following an Andre Wilson jumper with 15:03 to play. The Blazers maintained their double-digit lead for virtually the entire second half, until the Griffins managed to pull to within nine with just over one minute to play.

"It's good to get a first conference win, I don't think we played great, but it's a good way to start [conference play] and I'm happy with that," DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "I like how hard we played overall. I thought at times we were very good defensively and to hold [Westminster] to 34 percent shooting was big for us.

"In the first half we shared the ball better," Judkins added. "We did a good job of driving into the lane and letting [Westminster] collapse down on defense. Then we'd kick it back out and knock down shots. Those four threes Frank [Staine] hit really helped us."

Staine finished with a career-high 18 points to lead three Blazers in double figures. The freshman also collected four rebounds with three assists and a steal. Schofield added 14 points, 10 of which came after halftime, and Newbold tallied 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six rebounds.

Dixie State shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the floor, including a season-high 50.0 clip (9-of-18) from beyond the arc. However the Trailblazers matched that 50.0 percentage number at the foul line by connecting on just 7-of-14 at the charity stripe. DSU also outrebounded the Griffins by a 44-33 count, highlighted by a game-high 10 boards for Jack Pagenkopf to go with six points and a game-high six assists.

Brandon Warr led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting with nine caroms to lead Westminster. The Griffins cooled down considerably after their hot start, finishing the night 19-of-55 (.345) from the field, which included a 9-of-29 (.310) effort from the perimeter.

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.