Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | WCU | CMU
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OPENING TIP: No. 22 Dixie State (17-4/12-3 RMAC) wraps up its four-game Colorado road swing this weekend with return games at Western Colorado (8-13/5-10 RMAC) on Friday, Feb. 7, and at Colorado Mesa (13-8/9-6 RMAC) on Saturday, Feb. 8. Both games will tip locally at 7:30 p.m.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 5-0 all-time vs. Western Colorado, which includes an 87-57 triumph in the last month in the Burns Arena (1/25/20), and a hard-fought 96-91 overtime conference win in the Trailblazers' first-ever visit to Gunnison nearly one full year earlier (1/26/19).
    DSU is 7-4 all-time against Colorado Mesa and has won four-straight and six of the last seven meetings overall, which includes a 74-68 slug fest last month inside the Burns Arena (1/24/20). 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) in Grand Junction, then picked up an 80-73 home win the return match-up in the Burns Arena (2/9/19).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State came away with a disappointing road split to begin its four-game road swing last weekend. Five Trailblazers scored in double figures as DSU opened the trip with an impressive 90-72 victory at Fort Lewis on Friday night, which extended Blazers' win streak to six-straight overall. The road win was DSU's 100th in the program's NCAA era.
    However that streak would come to halt this past Saturday night as DSU could not protect a double-digit first half lead in falling at Adams State, 82-75.

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS: As a result of last weekend's split, Dixie State fell three spots to No. 22 the NABC Division II Top-25 Coaches poll, and dropped all the way out of the D2SIDA Media top-25 poll. The Trailblazers also remained at No. 3 in the latest D2SIDA South Central Region poll (1/27/20), though this week's poll was not released.

COACHING STAFF: Six-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 563-258 career record) is in his 15th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 279-130 overall record, including a 259-118 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).

563 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 to a new year and decade, DSU has played to a whopping 165-49 (.771) overall record during the final two months of the regular season in the program's NCAA era (13-plus seasons). Under Coach Judkins, DSU has played to an 80-26 (.754) overall record in the month of January in the program's NCAA era (14 seasons), including a 27-6 (.818) mark over the past four seasons (7-2 in January 2020).

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: Dixie State's 17-4 start to the 2019-20 season, including a 10-0 mark to begin the campaign, is tied for the best overall start to any season after 21 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 17 of its first 21 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 128-91 (.584) in 219 games away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a combined 8-3 record this season (4-3 road; 4-0 neutral). Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 100-70 record (.588) 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 80-straight games, including 10 treys on the road at Fort Lewis 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 281 of its last 283 games overall, and in 375 of the program's 379 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 18 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 (6.1 apg - 16th-nationally) and is second on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg - t-21st RMAC) and rebounding (6.0 rpg - t-4th 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 also matched his career-high of 10 dimes in last Friday's win at Fort Lewis and tallied 11 points en route to his second double-double of the year ... the senior followed that up with 20 points, 18 of which were scored in the second half, and five more assists in the loss at Adams State on Saturday.
* - Pagenkopf's two 10-assist nights 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 were the ninth and 10th instances 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 206 career assists in just 46 career games, which is good for ninth place on DSU's career list ... the senior guard also moved into seventh place on DSU's single season assists list with 129 and stands just 19 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-sixth on DSU's single-season steals list (43) and is currently ninth all-time in career steals (77).
* - Pagenkopf averaged 16.0 points on 46.1 percent shooting, along with 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.0 steals in the two games against WCU and CMU two weekends ago ... against CMU (1/24), 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 the win over Western (1/25), 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 18 of his first 21 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 notched his team-leading third double-double of the year with team highs of 15 points and 11 boards at FLC last Friday, then tallied 10 points in 19 foul-plagued minutes at Adams State on Saturday night.
*- 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 (16.4 ppg - 4th on DSU's season list/7th-RMAC/192nd-nationally) and rebounding (6.8 rpg - t-8th on DSU's season list/T-4th RMAC/T-198th-nationally), while shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
 * - Junior guard Dason Youngblood has scored in double figures in eight of his last 14 starts and in 10 of 21 starts overall ... Youngblood was one of three Trailblazer starters to dial up a "Blackjack" two weekends ago (Pagenkopf vs. Western/Schofield vs. CMU) as he hit for 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with seven boards and five assists in the Western win ... the junior also tied a career-high with eight assists in the at Fort Lewis last Friday.
* - 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 (3.1 - 17th-nationally), and is eighth (and 135th-nationally) in assists per game (3.8).  
* - Freshman guard Frank Staine looked to get back on track last weekend as he averaged 12.0 ppg and shot a combined 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the floor, including a red-hot 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the perimeter ... The freshman co-led the team in scoring with 15 points (5-of-7 FG; 4-of-5 3FG) at FLC, then went for nine points and four boards the next night at Adams State ... Staine has scored in double figures in nine of his 21 starts overall, which includes a career high 20 points in a home win vs. UCCS (1/3).
* - 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-5 shooting with three more 3FGM and three assists  at Fort Lewis, and had nine points and two dimes at Adams State before fouling out ... Wilson has scored 10 or more points in five of his last 12 outings and he currently leads the team in 3FG% (.456 - #3 on DSU's single season list; 26-of-57).
* - Senior forward Cameron Chatwin tied a season-high with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds at Fort Lewis last Friday ... the senior has averaged 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds over his last 10 games, which includes an 13-point, four-rebound outing vs. Western (1/25).  
* - 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 of his shots 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 10 games since and his averaging 7.0 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 is averaging 5.7 ppg over his last nine outings, which includes a pair of seven-point outings last weekend at both FLC and ASU on a combined 6-of-7 shooting ... the sophomore has proven himself as one of DSU's best all around shooters this season as he has connected on 26-of-36 (.722) from the floor and a team-best 81.4 percent (35-of-43) at the line in limited duty.
* - DSU reserves have outscored their opponent's reserves by a combined 544-387 (25.9 ppg-18.4 ppg) count through 21 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 15 of 21 games overall, though both the WCU and CMU reserves outscored the Blazer bench in both games in St. George two weeks ago.
* - Every Trailblazer that saw time in the CMU (1/24) 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 54 of its last 104 games decided by nine points or less, including nine of 21 games this season.
* - Also dating back to 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 37 of its last 99 games overall, including four of the last five games and in seven of its last 14 outings overall, highlighted by a season-high 58.5 clip (35-of-60) last Friday at Fort Lewis, and a 58.3 night vs. Western (1/25).
* - Dixie State tied NCAA-era program record lows in FTM (3) and FTA (4) in the win over CMU (1/24) ... 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 ... DSU also took one more 3-pointer (22) than Fort Lewis (21) last Friday.  
* - DSU shot a sizzling 70.0 percent (21-of-30) in the second half vs. WCU (1/25) ... 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 377 assists (18.0 apg - 1st in RMAC/17th-nationally) to 273 turnovers (13.0 tpg - 6th in RMAC/121st-nationally) through 21 games of the year ... that number includes a season high 27 dimes (vs. just 10 TO's) last Friday at Fort Lewis, and a 24-assist, 9-turnover night vs. Western (1/25).
*- DSU is also tops in the RMAC and ranked 28th-nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.40).
* - DSU has won the "Battle of the Boards" in 18 of 21 games of the year, highlighted by a season-best +19 margin (46-27) vs. Lake Superior State (11/22), and has outrebounded an opponent in 61 of its last 75 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign ... Dixie State is second in the RMAC and is ranked 36th-nationally in rebounding margin (+5.5), and is ranked 48th-nationally in rebounds/game with an RMAC-leading 38.8 rpg average ... DSU also leads the RMAC and is ranked 18th in the country in defensive rebounds (28.9 rpg).  
* - Eleven of Dixie State's 17 wins have come by double-digits, including five of its last six, highlighted by a season-high +30 point margin vs. WCU (1/25) ... DSU's +9.4 scoring margin is currently best in the RMAC and good for 36th-nationally ... DSU surrendered a season-low 53 points to Regis (1/18).

ABOUT THE WESTERN COLORADO "MOUNTAINEERS": WCU has lost seven of its last 10 games since the calendar turned to 2020, though the Mountaineers did come out with an 81-77 road win at Regis last Saturday night in Denver.  
    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 13.1 ppg.

ABOUT THE COLORADO MESA "MAVERICKS": Colorado Mesa, which hosts Westminster College on Friday night before Saturday's game vs. DSU, enters the weekend having lost three of its last four, which includes the loss at DSU (1/24) and a 90-70 road victory at Colorado Christian last Saturday in Lakewood.
     CMU currently leads the RMAC in FG% (.521) and 3FG% (.429), and is third in the league in scoring (82.6 ppg). 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 15.3 ppg. Nuno is also second in rebounding (6.0 rpg) behind senior guard Michael Skinner (6-3), who leads the team at 6.2 rpg to go with a 12.1 ppg average and a 61.8 percent shooting percentage.

UP NEXT: Dixie State closes out its 2019-20 home regular season schedule next weekend with return games vs. Adams State on Friday, Feb. 14, and against Fort Lewis on Saturday, Feb. 15. Both games are slated to tip off inside the Burns Arena at 7:30 p.m.