Four Trailblazers scored in double figures as Dixie State ran its record to 4-1 on the strength of a 90-69 rout of Bethesda College on Saturday night inside the Burns Arena.

The Trailblazers fought off a sluggish start in the early going, but thanks to 10-straight as part of a 21-7 run, Dixie State turned a three-point deficit into a 28-17 lead with 7:21 remaining in the opening frame.

DSU kept the momentum going, extending the cushion to as many as 22 points before taking a 52-32 advantage into the halftime break. The Blazers connected on a season-high 66.7 percent (22-of-33) of their shots in the opening stanza, which helped offset an uncharacteristic 4-of-14 effort at the foul line.

Dixie State also hit of 4-of-7 from the perimeter, including back-to-back treys from senior guard, Jamar Ergas which kickstarted the Blazers' second extended scoring run in the closing minutes of the frame.

DSU would see its lead dip below 20 points just three times in the second half as the Trailblazers put it on cruise control and coasted to the easy win.

Frank Staine, Jacob Nicolds and Isaiah Pope (career-high) each had 14 points on, coincidentally, 6-of-8 shooting to pace the Blazers offensively. Nicolds also pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double.

Meanwhile Jarod Greene hit all three of his field goals and all four free throws to tally 10 points. In all, 11 of the 12 players who saw time for Dixie State on the night scored at least two points.

DSU shot a season-high 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the floor, which included a 5-of-15 (.333) clip from the perimeter. However the Trailblazers missed 15 free throws on the night to finish a paltry 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the charity stripe. Dixie State also outrebounded Bethesda by a 39-31 margin. 

"I thought tonight was just a tough night all the way around, whether it was the atmosphere, it was really quiet, and it seemed like we weren't really excited to play," DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "It could be that Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is thinking about that, but we did enough to win.

"There's a bad team, a good team and a great team, and tonight we were a good team. If we would've been a bad team we would've lost," Judkins noted. "We have to work on our focus. I thought our foul shooting was terrible, and to me that's just focus.

"One thing I did like tonight was that was positive was that our bench guys that don't play a lot got some minutes," added Judkins. "They hustled and they played hard and it gave me a chance now to see that if we get into a game that is close or if we need somebody to go in that I'll have some confidence to go to them."

Bethesda guard Steve Wooten led all scorers with 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting to go with a game-high 13 boards. The Flames shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field and was 6-of-27 (.222) from beyond the arc.

"A win's a win and we'll always take them," Judkins said. "I didn't think we got better tonight when we should've gotten better. Give [Bethesda] a lot of credit, they were playing hard and they're doing a lot of traveling with as many games as they've had.
 
"It was kind of one-on-one basketball and we've got to do a better job of guarding people [1-v-1] and that's something we have to work on. Tonight Bethesda showed that to us and now we've got to go to work on it."

Dixie State will wrap up the 2020 calendar year with a trip to the "The Kennel" in Spokane, Wash., for a date at current No 1-ranked Gonzaga on Tuesday, Dec. 29.