Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | CMU | WCU
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (14-3/9-2 RMAC) wraps up its current four-game homestand and opens the second half of the RMAC season this weekend with a pair of games inside the Burns Arena. DSU will play host to Colorado Mesa (12-5/8-3 RMAC) on Friday night, before taking on Western Colorado (7-10/4-7 RMAC) on Saturday night. Tip-off inside the Burns Arena for both games is slated for 7:30 p.m.
  
DIXIE STATE AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 6-4 all-time vs. Colorado Mesa, including winning three-straight and five of the last six meetings overall. DSU came away with a two-game RMAC sweep last season, which started with a decisive 86-61 road win over the Mavericks in the first conference meeting between the sides (1/25/19), then moved to 4-0 all-time vs. CMU in the Burns Arena last February with an 80-73 home triumph (2/9/19).
    DSU is 4-0 all-time vs. Western Colorado, which includes a 74-52 conference triumph in the last meeting in the Burns Arena (2/8/19), and a hard-fought 96-91 overtime league win in the Trailblazers' first-ever visit to Gunnison (1/26/19). Prior to their two RMAC meetings, the Blazers and Mountaineers had not squared off since the 2010-11 season when DSU recorded a 65-58 neutral site win in Grand Junction (11/26/10). Dixie State also posted a 78-63 home win over WCU to begin the 2010 calendar year (1/2/10).

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.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State remained tied atop the RMAC standings after opening its four-game homestand with a pair of double-digit victories last weekend in the Burns Arena. The Trailblazers got a career-high 17 points from junior forward Jarod Greene as they began the homestand with an 84-73 win over Colorado Christian last Friday night. Greene's low-post running mate, fellow junior Hunter Schofield, matched that effort the next night with 17 points as the Blazers rolled to a 73-53 decision vs. Regis, which was DSU's third-straight double-digit win. 

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS: Thanks to last weekend's home sweep, Dixie State moved back into the top-25 in both the NABC (No. 23) and D2SIDA Media (No. 18) Division II Men's Basketball polls. The Trailblazers also vaulted up three spots to No. 3 in the latest D2SIDA South Central Region poll.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 560-257 career record) is in his 15th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 276-129 overall record, including a 256-117 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).

560 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 (560 career wins; .685 W%) 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 her 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).

NEW YEAR = NEW STREAK?: Dixie State's road loss at Western Oregon (12/20) snapped the Blazers' NCAA-era program record 23-game regular season win streak, which included the final 13 regular season games last year.  
    In the 2017-18 campaign, the Trailblazers won their final 15 regular season games, and pushed that streak to a school record 17-straight victories overall in the Pacific West Conference tournament, en route to an NCAA-era program record 23 wins (23-7). Coincidentally, the 2017-18 win streak also came to an end on WOU's home court in Monmouth as the Trailblazers carried the streak into their NCAA Division II Tournament West Regional first round game vs. Azusa Pacific, but came away with a season-ending 69-65 loss.
    As the calendar has now turned, DSU has played to a whopping 162-48 (.771) overall record (4-2 this month) 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 14-3 start to the 2019-20 season, including a 10-0 mark to begin the campaign, matches the best overall start to any season after 17 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, which won 14 of its first 17 games overall to begin that year, finished the season 21-7 and made the fifth of its seven-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

A DECADE OF DOMINANCE: Dixie State closed out the 2010-19 decade as one of the most dominant programs in the NCAA Division II ranks. DSU posted a 208-74 (.737) overall record and captured six Pacific West Conference championships (and two PacWest tournament crowns) over that 10-year span. In addition, the program earned eight NCAA Tournament bids, including seven-straight NCAA postseason appearances from 2010-16.
    Dixie State notched six 20-win seasons in the decade, including a NCAA-era record 23 victories in the 2017-18 season.
    DSU also began the decade with a seven-game winning streak and won 10 of its first 11 games overall to finish that year 15-3 (20-6 overall), while the Trailblazers closed the decade, coincidentally, by winning 10 of its final 11 games over the first two months of the 2019-20 season. 

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Dixie State's come-from-behind overtime victory at New Mexico Highlands (109-108; 12/13/19), during which DSU erased a 19-point second half deficit, marked the second-largest double-digit comeback in the program's NCAA era. In the 2013-14 season, Dixie State rallied from a 21-point (14-35) first half hole at home vs. Chaminade (2/15/14), outscoring the Silverswords 76-42 over the final 30-plus minutes of play to post a 90-77 triumph.
    The Trailblazers' 19-point rally at NMHU is the largest road comeback in the program's four-year era, passing the 17-point first half deficit DSU erased in a thrilling 66-64 win at California Baptist in the 2018 PacWest Tournament championship game (3/3/18).

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 130-28 (.822) overall record on its home floor under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 7-1 mark this season. 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.
    In addition, Dixie State clinched its 13th-straight home winning season record in 14 seasons of NCAA competition in last Saturday's win over Regis.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: Dixie State is currently third in the NCAA D-II ranks in total home attendance (17,735) and second-nationally in D-II in average attendance (2,217) through eight home dates this season.
    DSU 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.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State is 127-90 (.585) in 217 games away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a combined 7-2 record this season (3-2 road; 4-0 neutral). Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 99-69 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 76-straight games, including eight treys vs. Mines (1/4), and a season-high 11 3-pointers at New Mexico Highlands (12/13).
    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 277 of its last 279 games overall, and in 371 of the program's 375 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 17 times in its four-year era overall, highlighted by a single-game 3FGM school record of 13 first set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

2019-20 TEAM NOTES:
* - Senior guard Jack Pagenkopf has proven to be a "Jack of All Trades" this season as he leads the RMAC in assists (5.8 apg - 25th-nationally) and is second on the team in scoring (13.1 ppg - t-26th RMAC) and rebounding (6.4 rpg - t-7th RMAC) ... the senior guard became the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to record a triple-double, going for 17 points and career-highs of 13 rebounds and 10 assists in DSU's 100-91 OT win vs. UT-Tyler (11/9).
* - Pagenkopf's 10 assists vs. UT-Tyler (11/9) were the most by a Trailblazer player since former DSU guard Mason Sawyer dished out 10 dimes vs. Azusa Pacific over 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).
* - Pagenkopf has 176 career assists in just 42 career games, which moved him into 10th place on DSU's career list ... additionally, Pagenkopf (73 steals) vaulted into ninth place in career steals after he combined for six steals in the two wins last weekend, including a co-game high four thefts vs. Regis on Saturday night ... the senior also moved into 10th place (39) on DSU's season steals list and needs seven dimes to break into that top-10 season list.  
* - Pagenkopf averaged 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the home sweep last weekend ... he scored 11 points with a team-highs of seven boards and five dimes vs. CCU, then filled the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to go with his four steals against Regis.
* - Junior forward Hunter Schofield has scored in double figures in 14 of his first 17 games played this season with five 20-plus point outings, including a 24-point night with eight rebounds and two blocks vs. Mines on Jan. 4 ... Schofield also poured in a team-high 17 on 6-of-8 from the floor in the Regis win.  
*- Schofield tallied a career-high 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting with nine rebounds at CSU-Pueblo (12/14) ... the junior registered 16 of those points in the second half, while his 21 FGA are tied for third on DSU's single-game list ... that performance came on the heels of a 25 point/5 rebound effort a night earlier at NMHU (12/13) ... Schofield currently leads the team in scoring (16.5 ppg - 4th on DSU's season list/5th-RMAC/179th-nationally) and rebounding (6.8 rpg - t-8th on DSU's season list/4th RMAC/202nd-nationally), while shooting 49.8 percent from the field.
 * - Junior guard Dason Youngblood has scored in double figures in seven of his last 10 starts and in nine of 17 starts overall ... Youngblood was one of three Trailblazers to tally 16 points in the win at Chadron (1/11) as he hit on 7-of-11 from the floor with five boards and three steals ... he also just missed his first collegiate double-double in the win over Regis with 10 points and career-bests of nine rebounds and four steals.
* - Youngblood netted a career-high 27 points in the win over Alaska Fairbanks (11/23) ... Youngblood scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, and connected on 12-of-17 from the floor overall with three rebounds and three assists ... the senior guard currently leads the RMAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.9 - 27th-nationally), and is T-14th (and T-203rd-nationally) in assists per game (3.4).  
* - Freshman guard Frank Staine broke a three-game scoreless drought with six points in the CCU win, and followed that up with eight points (2-of-4 3FG) with two dimes and two steals against Regis ... Staine's dry spell came after he scored a career-high 20 points with six boards, three assists and three steals in the UCCS win (1/3) ... the freshman poured 15 of his 20 points vs. UCCS in the first half, and connected on 4-of-7 from the floor and 10-of-11 at the foul line overall ... Staine has scored in double figures in eight of his 17 starts overall, which included a then-career high 19 points in the come-from-behind win at NMHU (12/13).
* - Senior reserve guard Andre Wilson tied a career-high with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers in the win at Chadron State (1/11), which coincidentally, he also scored 16 points against nearly a year-to-the-day in the Burns Arena (1/12/19) ... the senior continued his solid play off the bench with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting with two more 3FGM and four boards vs. CCU, and had five points with two assists and a block in the Regis win ... Wilson has scored 10 or more points in four of his last nine outings and he currently leads the team in 3FG% (.449 - t-6th on DSU's single season list; 22-of-49).
* - Senior forward Cameron Chatwin posted another solid RMAC weekend, this time he averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the two home wins ... Chatwin went for 6 and 5 vs. Colorado Christian, then hit 3-of-4 from the floor on his way to an 8-point, six rebound night against Regis ... Chatwin was solid on DSU's recent road trip to MSUD/Chadron, highlighted by an 11-point, six-rebound (all offensive) outing at MSUD (1/10).  
* - Junior forward Jarod Greene enjoyed a break-out night in DSU's win over Colorado Christian last Friday as he knocked down 6-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line on his way to a career-high 17 points in just 17 minutes of action.
* - Greene was inserted into the starting line-up for the first time at Western Oregon (12/20), against which his scored nine points with five rebounds in 19 minutes ... Greene has started each of the last six games since and his averaging 7.3 ppg as a starter ... the junior forward had averaged 5.3 points in 11.3 reserve minutes over his first 10 games in a Blazer uniform, highlighted by a 15-point night on 5-of-7 shooting vs. UT-Tyler (11/9).
* - Sophomore forward Jacob Nicolds "had a night" in the win at Chadron State (1/11) with a career-high 16 points, which marked the time in his collegiate career that he scored in double figures ... Nicolds hit 3-of-4 from the floor and 10-of-11 at the foul line, and pulled down a career-best seven rebounds for good measure.
* - Nicolds' 16 points at Chadron doubled his previous career-high of eight points, which he tied in the loss vs. Mines (1/4), and he is averaging 5.3 ppg over his last seven outings ... the sophomore has proven himself as one of DSU's best all around shooters this season as he has connected on 17-of-24 (.708) from the floor and a team-best 81.1 percent (30-of-37) at the line in limited duty.
* - DSU reserves have outscored their opponent's reserves by a combined 441-278 (25.9 ppg-16.3 ppg) count through 17 games this season, including a season-best +23 (36-13) edge at NMHU (12/13), and a season-high 42 total points (42-26) in the road win at Chadron State (1/11) ... DSU's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in 13 of 17 games overall.
* - Dixie State's 109 points scored at NMHU (12/13) were the third-most in the program's NCAA era, while the 108 points scored by NMHU are a DSU opponent single-game record, which eclipsed the previous record of 105 points scored by Dominican (L, 90-105; 2/20/14) during the 2013-14 season.
* - Meanwhile, the 217 combined points scored in the DSU/NMHU game are also a new DSU program record, beating the previous total of 207 set in a 104-103 overtime loss at Azusa Pacific (12/10/16) during the 2016-17 campaign.
* - 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 ... prior to the UT-Tyler game, 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) in November ... 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).  
* - DSU's home overtime loss to Mines (1/4) snapped a five-game OT win streak, which included OT wins at NMHU (12/13) and vs. UT-Tyler (11/9) earlier this season ... The DSU/Mines OT game was just the 32nd overtime game in the program's NCAA era (371 games), and DSU is 20-12 all-time in overtime games ... Four of those 32 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 52 of its last 100 games decided by nine points or less, including seven of the first 17 games this season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 34 of its last 95 games overall, including four of its last 10 outings overall, highlighted by a season-high 56.9 clip (33-of-58) at NMHU (12/13), and a 51.0 clip (26-of-51) last Saturday vs. Regis.
* - Dixie State connected on a season-high 86.7 percent (26-of-30) at the line at Chadron State (1/11), and went to the line 34 times vs. CCU last Friday, which was a home game season-high.
* - DSU has dished out 293 assists (17.2 apg - 1st in RMAC/24th-nationally) to 216 turnovers (12.7 tpg - T-6th in RMAC/T-84th-nationally) through the first 17 games of the year ... DSU is also tops in the RMAC and ranked 31st-nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.40).
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in 14 of its first 17 games of the year, highlighted by a season-best +19 margin (46-27) vs. Lake Superior State (11/22), and in 53 of its last 67 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign ... Dixie State is second in the RMAC and is ranked 54th-nationally in rebounding margin (+5.0), and is ranked 20th-nationally in defensive rebounds with an RMAC-leading 29.1 drpg average.
* - Nine of Dixie State's 14 wins have come by double-digits, including the last three overall ... DSU's +8.9 scoring margin is currently second (behind CMU) in the RMAC and good for 55th-nationally ... DSU surrendered a season-low 53 points to Regis last Saturday, one point better than the previous season low of 54 set vs. Black Hills State (12/7).

ABOUT THE COLORADO MESA "MAVERICKS": Colorado Mesa enters Friday night's showdown riding a four-game win streak, all of which came at home, and is one game back of both DSU and Black Hills State in the RMAC standings at 8-3. CMU currently leads the RMAC in FG% (.520), 3FG% (.418) and scoring margin (+9.3), and is third in the league in scoring (83.9 ppg).
    CMU's league-leading 3FG% got a huge boost in the Mavericks' 105-91 win over Fort Lewis last Saturday night as they connected on a school-record 18 3-pointers (18-of-23; .782), which was the fourth time this season that CMU had hit 10 or more shots from beyond the arc.
    The Mavericks feature a balanced scoring attack as five players average double figures, three of which are starters, led by senior guard Tommy Nuno (6-5) at 16.7 ppg. Nuno is also second in rebounding (6.4 rpg) behind senior guard Michael Skinner (6-3), who leads the team at 6.6 rpg to go with a 12.8 ppg average and a 63.4 percent shooting percentage.

ABOUT THE WESTERN COLORADO "MOUNTAINEERS": WCU, which plays at Westminster College on Friday night before Saturday's game at DSU, has lost five of its last seven games overall, though the Mountaineers did come out with an 88-85 home triumph over Adams State last Saturday night in Gunnison.  
    The Mountaineers have been bitten by the injury bug, however, as two of their top three scorers have missed time due to injury. Sophomore guard Cole Sienknecht has started every game for Western and is averaging 14.1 ppg.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will enter a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play seven of their final nine regular season games on the road. The stretch begins next weekend with the first two games of a four-game road swing played at Fort Lewis on Friday, Jan. 31, followed by a date at Adams State on Saturday, Feb. 1.