Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | ASU | FLC
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (13-8/11-6 RMAC) wraps up the road portion of its 2018-19 regular season schedule this weekend as the Trailblazers head back to Colorado for a two-game trip. Riding a season-long eight-game winning streak, DSU opens the weekend this Friday night at Adams State (9-13/9-8 RMAC), followed by a Saturday night date at Fort Lewis (10-13/5-12 RMAC). Tip-off for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.

THE SERIES: DSU is 3-0 all-time vs. Adams State, including a dramatic 71-70 triumph over the Grizzlies inside the Burns Arena this past Feb. 2. DSU clawed out of a nine-point second half hole and survived a late Grizzly push to escape with the one-point win. Prior to that game, the Blazers and Grizzlies had not squared off since Dixie State's NCAA debut season in 2006-07, when DSU swept a home-and-home set vs. ASU (DSU 66, at ASU 55 - 11/18/06; at DSU 68, ASU 52 - 11/30/06). In fact, Dixie State's road win at ASU was the program's first-ever NCAA victory.
    Dixie State (1-5 vs. FLC) finally broke through in its series vs. Fort Lewis as the Trailblazers posted their first victory in six tries against the Skyhawks, a 63-53 win in the Burns Arena on Feb. 1. Three of DSU's six games vs. FLC have been played in Durango, including an 89-82 overtime Skyhawk win (11/23/12) the last time DSU visited Whalen Gymnasium.

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 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State pushed its winning streak to eight-straight and posted its fourth-consecutive RMAC sweep last weekend as the Trailblazers closed their homestand with victories vs. both Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa. DSU used a big 27-6 first half run and coasted home from there for a 74-52 triumph over WCU last Friday night.
    The Blazers followed that with a hard-fought 80-73 win vs. CMU the next night. Five Trailblazers scored in double figures as DSU opened up a double-digit second-half lead, then held off a late rally to complete a season sweep of the Mavericks.

THINGS TIGHTENING UP IN RMAC RACE: With five games to go in the 2018-19 regular season, Dixie State enters this weekend tied for fourth place in the RMAC standings with both New Mexico Highlands and Colorado-Colorado Springs at 11-6. Current No. 11/13 Colorado School of Mines remains perfect atop the conference table at 17-0 and owns a four-game lead over second-place Regis (13-4) and is five games clear of third-place Black Hills State (12-5).
    Colorado Mesa stands alone in seventh place at 10-7, followed by ASU in eighth at 9-8, and South Dakota Mines (8-9) and Chadron State (8-9) in t-ninth.
    The top-eight teams advance on to the 2019 RMAC Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal action at the home sites of the top-four seeds on Tuesday, March 5. The semifinals and championship games will be played at the top-remaining seed on March 8-9, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA South Central Regionals.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 541-253 career record) is in his 14th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 257-125 overall record, including a 237-113 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).

541 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 tied for 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. Current Salt Lake CC head women's basketball coach Betsy Specketer is also t-second all-time with 541 career victories (541-194) in 22-plus seasons on the Bruins' bench.

NO HOLIDAY HANGOVER: Once again Dixie State has begun a new year on fire as the Trailblazers have opened 2019 having won nine of 12 games, which includes their current season-high eight-game winning streak. Five of those nine victories have been by double-digits, while the Trailblazers' average margin of victory in those nine wins is 15.5 ppg, bolstered by a season-high 36-point win at Colorado Christian (84-48, 1/18) and a 31-point triumph vs. MSU Denver (69-38, 1/11).  
    Under Coach Judkins, DSU has played to a whopping 153-46 (.769) overall record during the final two months of the regular season in the program's NCAA era (12-plus seasons), highlighted by a school-record 15-game winning streak (17-straight including postseason) to close the 2017-18 campaign en route to the program's sixth PacWest title.

RAREFIED AIR: Dixie State's game at Western Colorado back on Jan. 26, marked the second time this season that the Trailblazers played a game above 7,200 feet above sea level. Western's Paul Wright Gym is listed as the highest NCAA athletic venue in the nation at 7,723 feet.
    DSU also played in highest Division I athletic facility this season, that being Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium (7,220) this past Dec. 29, and will play at Adams State's Plachy Hall Gym (7,543) this Friday night. In all, nine of DSU's 13 road games this season have been, or will have been played, above 5,280 feet, with five of those locations listed above 6,000 feet in elevation.

HOME SWEET HOME: With last weekend's sweep of Western and CMU, Dixie State clinched its 12th-straight home winning season record in 13 seasons of NCAA competition. Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 120-26 (.822) overall record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, which includes a 8-3 (6-2 RMAC) 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,
    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).

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 3: Dixie State 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) this past Saturday night vs. CMU.
    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?: Bolstered by its four-game road sweep to close the month of January, Dixie State is currently 118-88 (.573) in 206 games away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 94-67 record (.584) in true road games, and a 24-21 mark (.533) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    The Trailblazers, who are 5-5 on the road this season, 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 53-straight games, including a school record-tying 13 treys at Colorado Mesa (1/25), followed by 10 more trifectas the next night at Western Colorado (1/26). That feat marked the first time in the program's NCAA era that Dixie State had recorded 10 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games.  
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 254 of its last 256 games overall, and in 348 of the program's 352 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 15 times overall, highlighted by a single-game 3FGM school record of 13 first set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: Also of note, the Trailblazers surrendered an opponent school-record 21 3-pointers in the win at Western Colorado (1/26). WCU's 21 treys broke the previous record of 18 set by Chaminade (18-of-40) back on Jan. 5, 2008, in Honolulu.
    In addition, WCU's 49 3-point attempt easily eclipsed the previous DSU-opponent single-game record of 41 first set by Hawai'i Hilo (14-of-41; 1/21/16 in Hilo) and tied nearly a year later by Point Loma (14-of-41; 12/19/16 in San Diego).

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 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 19 dunks this season, including a team-high 13 flushes from senior forward Julien Ducree.

DEFENSE (CLAP CLAP) DEFENSE: Dixie State enjoyed arguably its finest overall defensive performance in program history in its 31-point win over MSU Denver back on Jan. 11. DSU held the Roadrunners to opponent single-game record lows of 11 made field goals and a 21.2 percent field goal percentage (11-of-52), which included a 6-of-28 (.214) clip in the first half and a 5-of-24 (.208) effort in the second half.
    Prior to that, the previous record low for opponent made field goals was 15 set four different times, with the last occasion coming during the 2016-17 season (at Academy of Art, 1/5/17), while the Roadrunners' shooting percentage eclipsed the previous DSU opponent record low of 23.8 percent posted by Pacifica College (15-of-63) in a 110-41 Dixie State win during the 2010-11 season (12/4/10).
    In addition, the 38 points surrendered also broke Dixie State's NCAA-era opponent single game low of 40 points set in an 84-40 home win over Dominican University on Feb. 11, 2010.
    Heading into this weekend's games, Dixie State leads the RMAC in scoring defense (68.9 ppg - 47th in NCAA DII) and FG% defense (.403 - 17th in NCAA DII).

TEAM NOTES:
* - Matt Conway has been on a roll over DSU's current winning streak, during which he averaged 18.6 points on 58.0 percent (45-of-80, .562) shooting, including 10-of-17 3FG (.588), and 48-of-68 (.706) at the line.
* - Conway posted his third double-double in as many weekends with team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday vs. Colorado Mesa ... the junior tallied 10 of his 17 points and collected seven rebounds after halftime.  
* - That performance came on the heels of a 23-point, 12-rebound night a week earlier vs. Adams State (2/2), and a DSU-team season high and career-high 33 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 13-of-19 at the line with 10 boards in the Blazers' OT win at Western Colorado (1/26).
* - Conway's 33 points tied for the second-highest single-game point total in the program's NCAA era and were the most since former DSU guard Trevor Hill poured in a school record 35 points last season in a win vs. Eastern New Mexico (11/17/17) ... Conway tied former DSU forward Steven Larson, who tallied 33 points at Notre Dame de Namur (2/16/13) during the 2012-13 season.
* - Conway's current run started on the CCU/Regis road trip, during which he averaged 21.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting a combined 73.7 percent from the floor (4-4 3FG) and 68.7 percent (11-16) at the line ... Conway scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers to go with six boards, one assist and one steal in just 17 minutes at CCU (1/18), then followed that up with a game-high 24 points (one off of his career high) in the come-from-behind win at Regis (1/19).
* - Conway posted his first double-double in a Trailblazer uniform with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the home win over MSU Denver (1/11) ... Conway scored 17 of his 19 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 from the perimeter, and pulled down 10 rebounds after halftime.
* - Conway has scored in double figures in 17 of 21 games with eight 20-plus point outings ... his 17.1 ppg average this year is currently second on DSU's single season list (behind only DSU Associate Head Coach Kasey Winters - 17.9 ppg/2007-08) and is good for seventh in the RMAC (T-141st nationally).
* - Conway has already gone to the foul line 154 times (116-of-154; 7.3 FTApg) and is shooting 75.3 percent at the stripe ... his 116 FTM and 154 FTA already ranks him fifth on DSU's single season list, and he is currently ranked 17th and 25th in the nation, respectively, in each FT category.  
* - Additionally, Conway enters this weekend as DSU's single-season leader in 3FG% (.550, 22-of-40).
* - Since his insertion into the starting line-up 10 games ago, Andre Wilson has averaged 8.5 points and has scored in double figures in five of those starts, highlighted by a career-high 16 points on 4-of-8 from the floor (3-of-4 3FG) and 5-of-7 at the line vs. Chadron State (1/12).
* - Wilson posted a road season-high 14 points with four boards at Western Colorado (1/26), which included the game-tying bucket with 4.0 seconds to play in regulation ... Wilson also poured with 13 points (9-of-11 FT) at Regis (1/19) and tallied 11 points with three assists at CMU (1/25) ... Wilson has scored in double figures in six of his last 11 outings overall.
*- 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 at UCCS (1/4) ... Frampton picked off a career-best four steals to go with six points, five boards and three dimes in the Western win last Friday, then went for 12 points the next night vs. CMU ... Frampton enters the week as the team leader steals (31, 1.5 - T-6th in RMAC/T-186th in NCAA DII) and is second in assists (53, 2.5 apg).
* - Jack Pagenkopf was held scoreless for just the second time in 19 games during last Friday's win vs. Western, however the junior guard did dish out five assists and had four rebounds in 20 minutes ... Pagenkopf rebounded nicely the next night vs. CMU, against which he scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and wound up with five more boards, two assists, one block and one steal.  
* - Julien Ducree had himself quite the homestand as the senior forward averaged 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds over the four games, including a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six boards in the Adams State (2/2) win ... Ducree also tallied a game-high 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the Western win (2/8), then just missed his second double-double of the year with 13 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) and nine caroms vs. CMU last Saturday.
* - Ducree is averaging 10.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg over his last 16 games, including 10.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg clip since moving into the starting line-up eight games ago.  
* - Ducree has also recorded at least one blocked shot in 14 of his 20 outings this season and he registered a season-high tying two blocks in the CMU win ... Ducree has now moved into t-eighth place on DSU's career blocks list (33).
* - The Trailblazer reserves combined to score a season-high 43 points at Colorado Mesa (1/25), which eclipsed the previous high of 42 points set a week earlier in the win at Colorado Christian (1/18) ... seniors Wade Miller (season-high) and Dub Price paced the reserves with 17 and 14 points respectively ... Miller hit on 6-of-8 from the floor, which included a 5-of-5 effort from the perimeter, while Price hit all five of his shot attempts with two 3-pointers.
* - Since becoming DSU's sixth-man after starting the first 13 games of the season, Price is averaging 10.0 ppg on 56.3 percent shooting (31-of-55) over his last six games off the bench ... in addition, Miller tallied points on 4-of-6 shooting with three 3-pointers in 14 minutes vs. Western last Friday.
* - Senior forward Quincy Mathews poured in a season-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting vs. Western (2/8) ... freshman forward Jacob Nicolds also got into the act as he tallied career-highs of four points and four assists in the Western win, while fellow freshman Josh Newbold chipped in five points with a rebound and a steal, and sophomore forward Eric Patten made his DSU debut and hit his only shot and pulled down a rebound in two minutes of action.   
* - Along with the 43 bench points at CMU, DSU topped the 40-point plateau for the fourth time this season and just the seventh time overall since January of 2015 with 41 bench points vs. Western last Friday.
* - In all, the DSU bench is averaging 27.1 ppg through 21 games this season, and the Blazer reserves have outscored their opponent's reserves in 15 of those 21 dates.  
* - Dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 44 of its last 78 games decided by nine points or less, including 14 of 30 games last year and 10 of 21 games this season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 25 of its last 72 games overall, including six games this season, which includes a season-high .591 clip (26-of-44) at Colorado School of Mines (1/5), and 58.8 percent (30-of-51) at CMU back on Jan. 25.
* - DSU shot 50 percent or better eight times last season, with seven of those occasions coming on the road.
* - DSU was held was held to a paltry 22.2 percent clip (6-of-27) in the first half against MSUD (1/11) ... however the Trailblazers bounced back in a big way in the second 20-minute period as DSU went 16-of-20 (.800) from the floor, including 6-of-7 from the perimeter, to outscore the Roadrunners 50-20 en route to its 31-point win.
* - DSU's 31-point spread vs. MSUD (1/11) just missed cracking the top-10 for most lopsided victory in the program's NCAA era and was the largest margin of victory since the Blazers posted an 89-55 (+34) triumph over Hawai'i Hilo late last season (2/10/18).
* - Though DSU just missed cracking the top-10 vs. MSUD, the 36-point win at CCU (1/18) tied for the fifth-largest margin of victory, and is the largest road margin of victory, in the program's NCAA era ... DSU also posted a 36-point win at home vs. Chaminade during the 2016-17 season (102-66; 2/4/17).
* - Dixie State broke an NCAA-era program record for lowest FT% in last Friday's win over Western as the Trailblazers hit on just 3-of-14 (.214) at the "charity" stripe, which included an 0-of-9 effort in the second half ... DSU did come back the next night vs. CMU and connect on 31-of-43 (.721) at the line.   
* - DSU shot a season-best 87.5 percent night (14-of-16) at BHSU (12/8) ... the 87.5 percent clip at the line at BHSU was 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 attempted a season-high 45 free throws at Western Colorado (1/26) and shot 71.1 overall (32-of-40) ... the 32 made free throws, also a season-high, helped negate Western's 21 made 3-pointers (out of 28 total FG makes).  
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in 14 of 21 games this season and in 38 of its last 49 games dating back to last year ... Dixie State was +11 in rebounding vs. Western last Friday (1/11), which marked the fifth time this season that the Trailblazers held a double-digit advantage on the boards.
* - The team's rebounding margin (+3.1, 3rd in RMAC) 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 tied for the sixth-best single game total in DSU's NCAA era.
* - Meanwhile, 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).
* - Price (353) vaulted into seventh place on DSU's career rebounding list after he corralled a combined 12 rebounds last week vs. WCU/CMU ... additionally, Mathews (345 career rebounds) follows closely behind in eighth-place all-time.
* - DSU recorded season-highs in assists (25) and steals (14) in the win at WCU (1/26).

ABOUT THE ADAMS STATE "GRIZZLIES": Adams State heads into Friday's game vs. DSU clinging to the eighth and final RMAC Tournament spot at 9-8. In fact, all nine of the Grizzlies' wins on the season have come in league play, including five of their last seven overall. Reigning RMAC Player of the Week John Dewey (Sr, G, 6-1, 170), who scored 33 points vs. DSU back on Feb. 2, is the RMAC's third-leading scorer at 19.7 ppg and is the conference's leading FT shooter (121-of-132, .917).

ABOUT THE FORT LEWIS "SKYHAWKS": Fort Lewis, which hosts Westminster College on Friday, enters the weekend 13th in the RMAC standings (5-12) after having lost eight of its last 12 since the calendar turned to 2019. Preseason RMAC selection Marquel Beasley (F, Sr., 6-5) leads three Skyhawk players averaging double figures at 17.2 ppg and is shooting better than 50 percent from the floor (.502, 143-of-285).

UP NEXT: Dixie State closes the 2018-19 regular season with a three-game homestand, which begins next weekend against Regis on Friday, Feb. 22, followed by a date vs. Colorado Christian on Saturday, Feb. 23.