No. 13 Dixie State could not hold on to a late second half lead, and was felled by clutch Oredigger shooting in overtime, as the Trailblazers came out on the short end of an 80-79 decision to Colorado School of Mines Saturday night inside the Burns Arena. The loss, DSU's first in RMAC play this season, dropped the Blazers to 11-2 overall, 6-1 in conference play.

Clinging to a 60-58 lead after Mines (9-5/5-2 RMAC) forward Brendan Sullivan drained a 3-pointer with 4:41 to remaining in regulation, the Trailblazers rattled off a quick 7-1 run to extend to their biggest lead of the half at 67-59 with 3:19 left.

Jack Pagenkopf answered with a trey of his own to start the rally, then collected one of his career-high five steals on the Orediggers' next time down the court. Dason Youngblood cashed in the defensive stop with a reverse lay-up, and Jacob Nicolds knocked down two free throws on Dixie State's next possession to give his side the eight-point cushion.

DSU's lead would be short-lived as the Orediggers scored nine of the final 10 points in regulation, culminating with a Kobi Betts 3-pointer with 21 seconds left that knotted the score at 68-68. DSU had one more chance in regulation, but a Pagenkopf perimeter shot caromed off the rim just before the buzzer sounded.

Tied at 70-70 after the first minute in the extra frame, Sullivan nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing and in the process drew a foul on the shot attempt. The forward would convert the four-point play chance, which gave Mines its largest lead of the night at 74-70 with 3:51 on the clock.

The two sides then traded scores before Dixie State finally regained the lead at 79-78 on consecutive buckets from Youngblood and Hunter Schofield, with the Schofield basket coming with 50 seconds remaining. DSU got a huge stop on Mines' next trip down the court and was sent to the line for a pair of free throws after the Orediggers were forced to foul.

However Dixie State missed both charity tosses and after Ben Boone cleared the rebound, he drove the lane and hit a leaner with five seconds left. The Blazers' got one last look at a potential game-winning shot, but a desperation 3-point attempt fell short at the final horn.

Schofield led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-14 from the floor and a 9-of-10 effort at the line. The junior forward also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and collected a pair of blocked shots. Meanwhile Pagenkopf tied a career-high with 23 points, including four 3-pointers on the night, and finished with five boards and five assists to go with his five steals. Youngblood also scored in double figures as the junior poured in 13 points with three steals and two assists.

Dixie State connected on 27-of-61 (.443) from the floor, which included an 8-of-21 night (.381) from beyond the arc. DSU also shot 70.8 percent (17-of-24) at the line and outrebounded Mines by a slim 39-38 margin.

Sullivan wound up hitting 5-of-7 from the perimeter and hit on seven of his 11 attempts overall to finish with 23 points to lead four Orediggers in double figures. Mines shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the floor, including hitting on three of its four shots in overtime, and hit 11 of its 27 (.407) 3-point attempts. Mines also went 17-of-23 (.739) at the foul line and was 5-of-5 at the stripe in the extra session.

Dixie State now heads out on its first road trip of the new year next weekend for a pair RMAC games, beginning with a date at MSU Denver on Friday, Jan. 10, followed by the program's first-ever trip to Nebraska for a game at Chadron State on Saturday, Jan. 11.