Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | FLC | ASU
Live Video: at FLC | at ASU
Live Stats: at FLC | at ASU
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @DIXIESTATEBBALL | #DixieBlazers | #RMACmbb

OPENING TIP: No. 19 Dixie State (16-3/11-2 RMAC) starts a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play seven of their final nine regular season games on the road, beginning this weekend with the first two games of a four-game Colorado road swing. DSU will travel to Durango to play at Fort Lewis (13-6/7-6 RMAC) on Friday night, followed by a date at Adams State (6-13/4-9 RMAC) on Saturday night in Alamosa. Both games will tip locally at 7:30 p.m.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 2-5 all-time against Fort Lewis, however both Blazer wins in the series came in RMAC play last season, including a 63-50 triumph in Durango this past Feb. 16. DSU also posted a 63-53 victory in the Burns Arena on Feb. 1, while all five of the Skyhawk wins vs. Dixie State were in non-conference games.
    DSU is 4-0 all-time vs. Adams State, including a dramatic 71-70 triumph over the Grizzlies inside the Burns Arena (2/2/19), and a convincing 96-63 victory the last time the two sides met in Alamosa (2/15/19). 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State completed a sweep of its four-game RMAC homestand, and pushed its current winning streak to five-straight overall, with victories over Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado last weekend inside the Burns Arena. Senior guard Jack Pagenkopf scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half in the CMU win, including a pair of step-back 3-pointers over the final minute-plus of regulation to pace DSU to the hard-fought decision over the Mavericks.
    The Trailblazers then came back the next night and shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the floor, highlighted by a sizzling 70.0 (21-of-30) in the second half, to roll past WCU in the homestand finale. The 30-point win was the largest margin of victory for Dixie State this season, and was the fourth double-digit victory in the team's current five-game win streak. 

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS: Thanks to last weekend's home sweep, Dixie State moved up four spot to No. 19 the NABC Division II Top-25 Coaches poll, but stayed at No. 18 in the D2SIDA Media poll. The Trailblazers also remained at 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; 562-257 career record) is in his 15th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 278-129 overall record, including a 258-117 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).

562 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 (562 career wins; .686 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 2019-20 season will mark the second and final season the Trailblazers will be a competing member of the conference. In the upcoming 2020-21 season, 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 164-48 (.773) overall record (6-2 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 16-3 start to the 2019-20 season, including a 10-0 mark to begin the campaign, IS the best overall start to any season after 19 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 15 of its first 19 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 132-28 (.825) overall record on its home floor under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 9-1 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 the home win over Regis this past Jan. 18.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: Dixie State is currently second in the NCAA D-II ranks in both total home attendance (24,520) and average attendance (2,452) through 10 home dates this season, which includes a season-high 3,493 fans that saw the Trailblazers defeat Western Colorado last Saturday.
    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 78-straight games, including nine treys vs. CMU last Friday, 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 279 of its last 281 games overall, and in 373 of the program's 377 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 (6.0 apg - 20th-nationally) and is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg - t-23rd RMAC) and rebounding (6.4 rpg - t-8th 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 dished out 189 career assists in just 44 career games, which is good for 10th place on DSU's career list ... the senior guard also moved into t-8th place on DSU's single season assists list with 114 (Sawyer, 2014-15), and stands just 34 dimes away from breaking the program's four-year era single season record of 147 set by former guard Dan Stock in DSU's first NCAA season in 2006-07.
* - Additionally, Pagenkopf moved into t-seventh on DSU's single-season steals list (41) and is currently ninth all-time in career steals (75).
* - Pagenkopf averaged 16.0 points on 46.1 percent shooting, along with 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.0 steals in Dixie State home sweep last weekend ... against CMU, he scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half ...  in fact, he tallied 18 of Dixie State's final 22 points on the night, including the team's last eight points overall, and hit four of his six 3-pointers on the night during that final stretch ... he also cleared out two key defensive rebounds and collected steal in the final moments.
* - In Saturday's win over Western, the senior flirted with his second triple-double of the year as he finished with 11 points and game-highs of eight rebounds and nine assists.
* - Junior forward Hunter Schofield has scored in double figures in 16 of his first 19 games played this season with six 20-plus point outings, and of note, the three games he didn't reach double figures in points - he had nine points in each of those starts.
*- Schofield poured in a co-game high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting against Western last Saturday ... Schofield also tallied 17 points on 8-of-11 from the floor the night before vs. CMU, 15 of which came in the first half.
*- Schofield scored 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 (16.8 ppg - 3rd on DSU's season list/T-6th-RMAC/167th-nationally) and rebounding (6.7 rpg - t-9th on DSU's season list/4th RMAC/213th-nationally), while shooting 51.7 percent from the field.
 * - Junior guard Dason Youngblood has scored in double figures in eight of his last 12 starts and in 10 of 19 starts overall ... Youngblood was one of three Trailblazer starters to dial up a "Blackjack" last weekend (Pagenkopf/Schofield) as he hit for 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with seven boards and five assists in the Western win ... he also dished out six assists with six points and two steals a night earlier vs. CMU.
* - 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 (3.3 - 16th-nationally), and is T-12th (and T-163rd-nationally) in assists per game (3.6).  
* - Freshman guard Frank Staine broke a three-game scoreless drought with six points in the CCU win (1/17), and followed that up with eight points (2-of-4 3FG) with two dimes and two steals against Regis (1/18) ... the freshman also scored seven points with a career-high eight rebounds vs. CMU last Friday, but was held scoreless in the Western win ... 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) ... Staine has scored in double figures in eight of his 19 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 11 outings and he currently leads the team in 3FG% (.431 - 10th on DSU's single season list; 22-of-51).
* - Senior forward Cameron Chatwin tied a season-high with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting against Western last Saturday ... the senior has averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds over his last eight games, which includes 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 (1/17) 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 eight games since and his averaging 6.7 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 20-of-29 (.690) from the floor and a team-best 82.9 percent (34-of-41) at the line in limited duty, which includes a 2-of-2 FGM and 4-of-4 FTM performance vs. Western last Saturday.
* - DSU reserves have outscored their opponent's reserves by a combined 486-337 (25.5 ppg-17.7 ppg) count through 19 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 19 games overall, though both the CMU and WCU reserves outscored the Blazer reserves in both games last weekend.  
* - Every Trailblazer that saw time in the CMU scored at least two points, which marked the fifth occurrence of that feat this season 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.
* - 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 53 of its last 102 games decided by nine points or less, including eight of 19 games this season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 36 of its last 97 games overall, including the last three games and in six of its last 12 outings overall, highlighted by a season-high 58.3 clip (35-of-60) last Saturday vs. WCU, and a 56.9 night (33-of-58) at NMHU (12/13).
* - Dixie State tied NCAA-era program record lows in FTM (3) and FTA (4) in last Friday's win over CMU ... DSU was held to three FTM on three prior occasions, the last coming last season at home against Western Colorado (2/8/19), while it was just the second time in the program's four-year era that the Blazers attempted only four total free throws in a game (vs. Texas A&M-Commerce - 11/29/14).
* - On the flip side, Dixie State attempted more 3-pointers (22) than CMU (16), which marked the first time this season that the Trailblazers outshot an opponent from the perimeter ... the last occasion came in last year's regular season finale at home vs. Westminster (3/1/19).
* - DSU shot a sizzling 70.0 percent (21-of-30) in the second half vs. WCU last Saturday ... in fact, DSU knocked down 19 of its 21 shots from inside the 3-point arc in the frame ... that effort was the second-best shooting half of the season behind only a 73.1 second half (19-of-26) in the win vs. Black Hills State last month (12/7).  
* - DSU has dished out 338 assists (17.8 apg - 1st in RMAC/18th-nationally) to 239 turnovers (12.6 tpg - 7th in RMAC/78th-nationally) through 19 games of the year ... that number includes an RMAC-season high 24 dimes (vs. just 9 TO's) last Saturday vs. WCU.
*- DSU is also tops in the RMAC and ranked 26th-nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.40).
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in 16 of 19 games of the year, highlighted by a season-best +19 margin (46-27) vs. Lake Superior State (11/22), and in 59 of its last 73 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign ... Dixie State is second in the RMAC and is ranked 52nd-nationally in rebounding margin (+5.1), and is ranked 43rd-nationally in rebounds/game with an RMAC-leading 39.2 rpg average ... DSU also leads the RMAC and is ranked 18th in the country in defensive rebounds (29.1 rpg).  
* - Ten of Dixie State's 16 wins have come by double-digits, including four of its last five, highlighted by a season-high +30 point margin vs. WCU last Saturday ... DSU's +9.8 scoring margin is currently best in the RMAC and good for 42nd-nationally ... DSU surrendered a season-low 53 points to Regis (1/18).

ABOUT THE FORT LEWIS "SKYHAWKS": Fort Lewis enters Friday's game vs. DSU winners of three of its last four, including a home sweep of Regis (80-79) and Colorado Christian (95-87) last weekend in Durango. Reigning RMAC Offensive Player of Week, junior forward Riley Farris (6-9), is the nation's seventh-leading scorer with an RMAC-best 24.9 ppg average on 58.9 percent shooting overall, which includes a pair of 26-point nights in both of FLC's home wins last weekend.

ABOUT THE ADAMS STATE "GRIZZLIES": Adams State, which hosts Westminster College on Friday night before Saturday's game vs. DSU, has lost five of its last six games overall, though the Grizzlies did post a home split last weekend with a win over CCU (101-82) last Friday, before bowing to Regis (94-99) in their last outing.  
    The Grizzlies feature a very balanced scoring attack as all five of their regular starters are averaging double figures, led by guards Juwan Green (6-0) and Kaelin Crane (6-5) at 14.9 ppg.

UP NEXT: Dixie State wraps up its four-game road swing next weekend with return games at Western Colorado on Friday, Feb. 7, and at Colorado Mesa on Saturday, Feb. 8.