Dixie State finally got to open the 2021 portion of its Division I debut season on Wednesday night. However the result was not what the Trailblazers had in mind as they were upended by New Mexico by a 72-63 count inside the Burns Arena.

Having not played in just over two weeks, Dixie State could not find its shooting touch in the early going as the Trailblazers (4-3) missed nine of their first 13 shots. That was the bad news, while the good news was that the Lobos (4-6) were just as cold from the field as they misfired on 10 of their first 15 attempts, though UNM did hold a slim 10-9 lead through the first eight-plus minutes.

The Blazers finally looked as if they got the offense clicking with seven-straight points as part of a 10-2 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 19-12 lead after an Isaiah Pope 3-pointer at the 8:00 minute mark.

DSU would push that lead to as many as eight points at 24-16 following a Jacob Nicolds trey. However the Lobos countered with eight unanswered points and closed the half with an 11-2 spurt to take a 27-26 lead into the intermission.

The two teams battled back and forth to open the second stanza, but again the Blazers would go cold offensively, misfiring on 14 of 16 from the floor coming out of the locker room. Meanwhile, New Mexico took full advantage as the Lobos outscored DSU 22-7 to begin the frame, including 14-straight points, to extend to their biggest lead of the night at 49-33 with 9:55 to go.

Dixie State tried to stay within striking distance and put up a flurry in the final five minutes, but the deficit proved to be too great as the Lobos came away with the win to halt their six-game losing skid.

"These last two-plus weeks [between games] have felt like forever," DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "That said there are no excuses. I thought we started the game well and we were doing the things we talked about doing. When we got up by eight I thought 'OK here we go.'

"Then [UNM] went on a 9-0 run, and this is where my team needs to get better, whether it's my captains or team leaders, they need to do a better job of rallying around each other and say 'Let's go and turn this baby around,'" Judkins added. "It just felt like somebody was waiting for somebody else to do it, and you can't do that. It has to be all five guys [on the floor] to change it."

Freshman guard Andre Mulibea paced four Blazer players in double figures with a career-high 15 points, 13 of which came after halftime, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the closing minutes. Frank Staine added 13 points, while Nicolds tallied 13 points and Hunter Schofield chipped in 11 points with five rebounds.

Dixie State shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor (22-of-66), which included a matching 8-of-24 (.333) from the perimeter. DSU also struggled at the foul line, missing 11 of its 19 attempts (.579), though the Trailblazers did collect 16 assists on their 22 made baskets and turned the ball over a season-low seven times.

Meanwhile New Mexico shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) for the game, though the Lobos were just 2-of-12 (.167) from 3-point country. UNM also outrebounded Dixie State by a 50-39 count and tied a DSU NCAA-era opponent record with 11 blocked shots. New Mexico guard Saquan Singleton led all scorers with 17 points.

"I thought New Mexico played extremely hard and I thought they were more aggressive and were flying around more than we were," Judkins noted. "That said, I saw some things tonight that was good on our end. We didn't quit, and I liked that. I loved the last four minutes of the game, we did some pressing and did some other things to get our guys to go. We also shot the ball better.

"As I've said before, when our defense is clicking our offense clicks. When we're not good defensively, we're not good offensively."

Dixie State will finally make its WAC debut this weekend as the Trailblazers travel to the Lone Star State for a two-game set at UT Rio Grande Valley on Friday and Saturday nights, Jan. 15-16. Tip-off each night is slated for 6 p.m. (MT) inside the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.