No. 19 Dixie State fell victim to a late MSU Denver rally as the Trailblazers dropped their second-straight RMAC game, 60-57, on Friday night inside the Auraria Event Center.

The Trailblazers (11-3/6-2 RMAC) shook off a slow start on the offensive end after the first media timeout by scoring 10-straight points as part of a 19-5 to race out to a 21-9 lead after a Dason Youngblood jumper with 7:39 to go until intermission. The Blazer bench kick started the run, with Cameron Chatwin accounting for six quick points, while the DSU backcourt combo of Youngblood and Jack Pagenkopf combined for nine points on the back end of the rally.

While the Dixie State offense was clipping along, the Trailblazer defense was just as stout as DSU forced seven Roadrunner turnovers and held MSUD to 1-of-9 shooting over the first nine-plus minutes of the frame.

MSU Denver clawed its way back into the game, thanks to Maris Colton and Druce Asah, who both hit 3-pointers and tallied five points apiece in a 10-2 Roadrunner spurt to pull their side to within four at 23-19 with 4:08 left in the period.

DSU countered with eight points in the paint, including six points from reserve forward Josh Newbold, as the Blazers took full advantage of their size in the low block to push the lead back to nine and would take a 31-24 advantage into the halftime break.

Dixie State opened the second half with two quick buckets to push its lead back to double digits.  However, Trailblazers could not deliver the knockout blow as MSUD managed to keep to at least a two-possession game until Pagenkopf knocked down a trey to extend the DSU lead to 46-37 with 8:31 to go.

From there it was all Roadrunners as MSU Denver (7-7/3-5 RMAC) rattled off a 19-4 run, including 12-straight points to begin the rally, to wrestle the lead back at 56-50 after an Asah lay-in with 2:55 on the clock. Asah poured in seven points in the run, while Mitch Lombard hit a pair of 3-pointers, as the Roadrunners hit 6-of-7 from the floor with four treys over that stretch.

The Trailblazers made one last push as Pagenkopf hit a three, then Hunter Schofield scored after an MSUD turnover, which pulled DSU to within 56-55 at the 1:38 mark. MSU Denver answered with two Kendall McIntosh free throws and a clutch Lombard leaner in the lane with 23 seconds left to again make it a two-possession game.

Pagenkopf drew a foul on a 3-point attempt on DSU's next trip down the court, and the senior knocked down the first two foul shots to pull Dixie to within three. The third foul shot fell off the rim, though Dixie State did manage to maintain possession after the loose ball caromed out of bounds. DSU had one more look for the tie, but the 3-point attempt at the buzzer would not go down as the Blazers fell short for the second-consecutive game.

After shooting 45.5 percent in the first half, Dixie State was held to a 31.0 percent (9-of-29) in the second stanza to finish the night with a season-low 38.7 clip (24-of-62) from the floor, which included a paltry 4-of-17 (.235) effort from beyond the arc. Pagenkopf led the Blazers with 16 points, 10 of which came in the second half, while Chatwin finished with 11 points with six rebounds, all on the offensive end.

Lombard led all scorers with 18 points, 14 coming after halftime, and Asah added 15 points off the Roadrunner bench. While Dixie State was ice cold from the floor in the second 20 minutes, MSUD hit on 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in that half and wound up shooting 46.9 percent (23-of-49) overall. MSUD also outrebounded the Blazers by a 36-32 count, 23-11 after halftime.

Dixie State will make its first-ever trip to Nebraska for a game at Chadron State on Saturday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (MT).