Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | CBU
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (4-7/0-4 WAC) heads out on the penultimate road trip of its NCAA D-I season as the Trailblazers travels to Riverside for a two-game WAC series against former Pacific West Conference rival California Baptist (7-4/2-2 WAC) this Friday and Saturday nights.
    Both games will be played inside the CBU Events Center (5,050) and will tip each night at 6 p.m. (PT).  

DIXIE STATE VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: Dixie State is 10-6 all-time vs. California Baptist, and has won two-straight and three of its last five meetings vs. the Lancers overall. However, the two sides have not met since the 2017-18 season, which was CBU's last season in the PacWest before its transition to NCAA Division I status and the program's move to the Western Athletic Conference.
    That season, Dixie State won two of the three season meetings, including a come-from-behind victory over the Lancers in the PacWest Tournament Championship game in Riverside (DSU 66, at CBU 64; 3/3/18).

TRAILBLAZERS TO PLAY NCAA GAME NO. 400 FRIDAY NIGHT: When Dixie State takes the court at CBU Friday night, it will mark the 400th game in the program's NCAA era. DSU enters the weekend with a 270-129 (.676) overall record since beginning NCAA play in the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has posted 12-straight winning seasons with seven 20-win campaigns in 14-plus NCAA seasons, including a school-record 23 victories in both the 2017-18 (23-7) and 2019-20 (23-7) seasons, and 22-win seasons in the 2010-11 (22-7) and 2012-13 (22-7) campaigns.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State Division I home and away games this season will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM. Devin Dixon will call the play-by-play action for each game this weekend, with DSU Associate AD Mike Olson providing color commentary. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at sportsradio977.com.         
    Along with the radio coverage, all DSU home games are simulcast on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22), with tape-delay rebroadcasts throughout the following week, and live online on the WAC Digital Network. The WDN is also available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku TV, while the WDN app is available for iOS in the Apple Store and Android on Google Play.

HI, MY NAME IS ....: After 14 years as a competing member of the NCAA at the Division II level, Dixie State has embarked on its first season transitioning to Division I status as one of two new members (along with Tarleton State) of the Western Athletic Conference.  
    During their 14-year Division II era, the Trailblazers played to a 266-122 (.685) overall record. Dixie State won seven conference regular season championships (6 PacWest, 1 RMAC) and two postseason conference tournament crowns (PacWest 2013/2018).
    In addition, DSU made nine NCAA D-II Basketball Tournament appearances in 11 seasons since 2010, including seven-straight appearances from 2010-16, and advanced all the way to the West Regional final (Sweet 16) in 2011. Dixie State earned its final NCAA Tournament berth last season, but that appearance was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State saw its current losing skid reach a school-record tying six games after the Trailblazers dropped both ends of a two-game home set vs. WAC leader (and former PacWest rival) Grand Canyon last weekend in the Burns Arena.
    The Trailblazers gave the Lopes all they can handle and more in a game that saw neither team lead by more than eight points, and featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties. However GCU did just enough to escape with a 77-74 game one victory this past Friday night..
    The following night was all GCU as Dixie State struggled out of the gate and could not get anything going offensively in an 81-46 lopsided defeat. 

573 AND COUNTING: Head Coach Jon 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 (573 career wins; .684 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 SEVENTH/EIGHTH IN THE WAC: Dixie State was picked to finish seventh by the media and eighth by the coaches in its Western Athletic Conference debut season as the 2020-21 WAC men's basketball preseason polls were released on Oct. 27.
    Three-time defending WAC champion New Mexico State was tabbed as overwhelming favorite to win its fourth-straight conference crown. The Aggies claimed eight of nine first place votes to finish with 64 points in the coaches poll, and collected 10 more first place nods and 150 points in the media poll.
    In fact, the top five spots matched in both polls as Grand Canyon (1 FPV – 52 pts coaches/125 pts media) was voted second overall, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley (45 pts coaches/114 pts media) in third, California Baptist (43 pts coaches/2 FPV – 105 pts media) in fourth, and Seattle U (33 pts coaches/84 pts media) in fifth.
    WAC newcomer Tarleton State (31 pts) wound up sixth in the coaches poll, while Utah Valley (28 pts) was listed in seventh, DSU (20 pts) in eighth and Chicago State (8 pts) in ninth. Rounding out the media poll, UVU finished sixth (74 pts), followed by the Trailblazers (49 pts) in seventh, Tarleton State (46 pts) in eighth, and CSU (18 pts) in ninth.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 138-32 (.812) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including a 3-3 start this year, and a 12-2 mark last season. In fact, DSU has recorded 13-straight home winning season records in 14 years of NCAA competition overall.
    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.

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State is 132-97 (.576) in 229 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins, though the Blazers are off to a 1-4 start this year, this after a combined 11-5 record last season (7-5 road; 4-0 neutral). Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 104-76 record (.577) in true road games, and a 28-21 mark (.571) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    DSU has won eight or more games away from home in 11 of its previous 14 NCAA campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.

RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 100-straight games, which included 12 made treys (12-of-29) in the win vs. Saint Katherine (12/5), and 10 more trifectas (10-of-27) at Denver (12/12). DSU also hit eight 3-pointers in the loss to Grand Canyon last Friday.  
    In fact, when DSU posted back-to-back games with 10 or more 3FGM vs. SKU/at Denver, it marked just the second time in the program's NCAA era that the Blazers accomplished that feat.
    The first occurrence happened two full seasons ago when DSU hit with 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).
    Meanwhile, DSU only reached double figures in 3FGM twice all of last season, highlighted by a season-high 12 3-pointers at Westminster, (2/28/20) and 11 trifectas in the come-from behind win at New Mexico Highlands (12/13/19).
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 301 of its last 303 games overall, and in 396 of the program's 399 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    In addition, Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 21 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.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...CLANG: While Dixie State was knocking down 12 3-pointers vs. Saint Katherine (12/5), the Trailblazer defense made a little history on the defensive side of things.
    For the FIRST TIME in the program's NCAA era (390th game overall), DSU held a team without a 3-point make as the Firebirds misfired on all 18 of their shots from beyond the arc.
    Prior to the SKU win, the previous 3FGM opponent low was one, which was recorded in consecutive games all the way back in the 2012-13 season at Notre Dame de Namur (1-of-9; 2/16/13) and at home vs. BYU-Hawaii (1-of-10; 2/23/13).

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. 

BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Junior guard Cameron Gooden has scored in double figures in seven of DSU's last nine games, and has led the team in scoring in four of the his last six starts overall.
* - Gooden poured in 22 points to go with a career-high six rebounds and three assists in game one vs. GCU last Friday ... Gooden scored 13 of his 22 points after halftime to help keep Dixie State within striking distance ... he then followed that up a night later with a team-high 14 points in the game two loss.   
* - Gooden was DSU's "Iron Man" at Gonzaga (12/29) as he played in a game-high 36 minutes and wound up with a team-high 20 points including three 3-pointers.
* - Gooden enjoyed a breakout game at Denver (12/12), against which he poured in game and career-high 23 points on 7-of-13 from the floor (5-of-9 3FG) to go with three assists and three steals ... Gooden has dished out five assists three times, including five dimes vs. New Mexico (1/13) to go with a career-high three steals.
* - Senior forward Hunter Schofield is looking like he is getting back in stride after scoring in double figures in three of his last five outings, highlighted by a season-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting off the bench against GCU on Friday night ... it was Schofield's 10th career game with at least 20 or more points ... the senior scored 13 of those points in the first half as the Trailblazers led for most of the period.
* - Schofield scored his 600th-career point at DSU on a first half mid-range jumper in game two vs. GCU on Saturday.
* - Schofield also posted his fourth career (and first of the season) double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds at UTRGV (1/16).
* -  Schofield is currently ranked third in DSU's NCAA era in career scoring average (14.9 ppg), seventh in career rebounding average (5.7 rpg) and eighth career FG% (.523).
* - Friday night's loss vs. GCU marked the first time this season that the Trailblazers had two players go off for at least 20 points when Schofield and Gooden combined for 45 of DSU's 74 points.
* - Schofield, along with 2019-20 RMAC Player of the Year Jack Pagenkopf, achieved that feat twice last season (Pagenkopf 23 pts/Schofield 24 pts vs. Colorado School of Mines – 1/4/2020; Pagenkopf 23 pts/Schofield 25 pts at Westminster College – 2/28/2020).
* - In all, Dixie State has had 21 games in its four-year era where at least two players had scored at least 20 points, including two instances where three players tallied 20-plus points. The last time that occurrence happened was in the 2016-17 season, when Trevor Hill (25 pts), Brandon Simister (23 pts) and Kyler Nielson (20 pts) achieved the feat in an OT loss at Azusa Pacific (12/10/16) during the 2016-17 campaign.
* - Senior guard Dason Youngblood returned to action last weekend vs. GCU, this after missing the last three games after suffering an injury just minutes into Dixie State's road game at No. 1 Gonzaga back on Dec. 29.
* - Youngblood tallied five points and three assists in 15-plus reserve minutes in G1 vs. the Lopes, then got the start and finished with six points in G2.  
* - Sophomore forward Frank Staine has scored in double figures in five of his first 10 starts this season, highlighted by a game-high 19 points in the season-opening home win vs. North Dakota (12/2), and a 13-point night with eight rebounds vs. New Mexico (1/13).
* - Staine has also dished out three or more assists in five starts, including a pair of five-assist outings vs. UND (12/2) and at Denver (12/12) ... Staine posted his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and scored his 300th career point, at SUU (12/17).
* - Junior forward Jacob Nicolds had scored in double figures in four-straight games and in six of his first seven starts before being held scoreless in game one at UTRGV (1/15) ... Nicolds shook off that outing a night later when he just missed his second career double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds, and he dished out a career-best four assists vs. the Vaqueros (1/16).
* - Nicolds tied a career-high with 17 points in his season debut vs. North Dakota (12/2) on his way to WAC Player of the Week honors (12/7) ... Nicolds also posted his first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a career-high 12 boards in the Bethesda win (12/19).
* - Senior forward Jarod Greene continues to lead all DSU active players in FG% at 52.6 (30-of-57) ... he displayed his hot shooting touch as he poured 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting at Gonzaga (12/29) ... Greene also tallied 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in game two at UTRGV (1/16) ... Greene opened the season by hitting all four shots he took (3-3 FG/1-1 FT) for seven points to go with five boards in his start vs. UND (12/2), and went 6-of-8 from the floor for 12 points and pulled down a career-high nine caroms vs. Saint Katherine (12/5).
* - DSU's bench has outscored its opponent reserves by a 264-247 margin (24.0-22.4 ppg) through its first 11 games (6-of-11 games overall), though UTRGV's bench got the best of the Blazers in both road games by near the same margin (G1, 32-18; G2, 31-18) ... GCU bench also outscored DSU's reserves by a 30-12 count last Saturday, this after DSU won the bench battle by a similar 31-12 margin in game one ... last season DSU reserves outscored its opponents' reserves in 22 of 30 games played (748-571/24.9 ppg-19.0 ppg).
* - Freshman guard Andre Mulibea enjoyed his best overall game as a Trailblazer in the UNM loss (1/13), during which he paced four Blazer players in double figures with 15 points, 13 of which came after halftime ... the freshman hit on 6-of-12 from the floor, including a 3-of-3 clip from beyond the arc in the closing minutes.
* - Sophomore guard Isaiah Pope has made an immediate impact since becoming eligible prior to the SUU game (12/17) ... Pope has averaged nearly seven points on 46.2 percent shooting in five games, highlighted by a 14-point night on 6-of-8 from the floor vs. Bethesda (12/19).
* - Dixie State enters this weekend's set at CBU looking to avoid breaking an NCAA era program record for consecutive losses ... DSU, which has lost six-straight since defeating Bethesda College, 90-69, back on Dec. 19, has lost six games in a row on only two other occasions in its four-year era ... the first instance happened in the program's first year of NCAA play in the 2006-07 season, while the second happened a year later in the 2007-08 campaign.
* - Dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 65 of its last 124 games decided by nine points or less, including five of seven games against D-I opponents this season.
* - DSU's 38-point margin of victory vs. Saint Katherine (12/5) was the fifth-largest in the program's NCAA era.
* - Since the 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 44 of its last 121 games overall.
* - DSU shot a season-high 63.2 percent vs. Bethesda (12/19) ... that performance broke a string of 66 games from the last time the Trailblazers shot at least 60 percent from the floor (60.0% vs. Holy Names - 2/19/18).
* - Dixie State shot a season-low 33.3 percent (22-of-66) vs. New Mexico (1/13) ... the Lobos also tied a DSU NCAA-era opponent record with 11 blocked shots ... that feat has happened three previous times, most recently nearly five years to the day (1/7/16) at Azusa Pacific ... DSU also had 11 shots blocked at Western Washington (12/28/06) and at home vs. BYU-Hawaii (1/24/08).
* - Dixie State dished out a season-high 25 assists on its 36 made field goals vs. Bethesda (12/19), including five dimes apiece for Youngblood and Staine.
* - Dixie State also recorded 22 assists on its 34 made field goals vs. SKU (12/5), including dimes on 10 of the Blazers' first 12 made shots, and had 17 assists on 24 FG makes at Gonzaga (12/29).
* - Dixie State was held to just 46 points last Saturday vs. GCU ... the 46 points tied for the second-fewest points in a game in the program's four-year era (L, 46-66 at Chaminade; 1/4/08), and marked the second time this season that DSU failed to score at least 50 points (49-82 at UTRGV, 1/15/21).
* - In addition, the Blazers' 35-point loss to Grand Canyon last Saturday was Dixie State's worst home loss in the program's NCAA era.
* - Uncharacteristically, Dixie State has lost the "Battle of the Boards" in eight of its first 11 games this season, though the Blazers did outrebound UTRGV in game two (1/16) by a 42-37 count ... overall, the Blazers have outrebounded an opponent in 71 of its last 95 games dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
* - DSU is 20-13 all-time in overtime games ... four of those 33 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.

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA BAPTIST "LANCERS": California Baptist enters the weekend riding a four-game winning streak, which includes WAC home wins over Tarleton State (83-74 and 73-67) two weekends ago, and an impressive 96-75 home blowout win over Long Beach State last Saturday night.
    Rick Croy (176-58 overall; San Francisco State, 1999) is in his eighth season as head coach at CBU, where he has led the Lancers to a pair of PacWest crowns, and a 2017-18 NCAA D-II Elite Eight appearance. In addition, Croy has guided CBU to an impressive 44-29 record over the program's first two-plus year of D-I play, including a 21-10 mark last season.
    The Lancers boast four players averaging double figures, led by junior guard Ty Rowell (6-2), who is averaging 14.8 points and a team-best 5.2 assists per game. Meanwhile, graduate center Gorjok Gak (6-11) is averaging a double-double at 13.5 ppg and 10.6 rpg (2nd WAC) while shooting 62.2 percent (3rd WAC) from the floor. Gak earned WAC Player of the Week honors this past Monday after he went for 26 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the LBSU win last Saturday.
    As a team, CBU the WAC's top-scoring team at 83.7 ppg, and is the conference leader in made 3-pointers (115, 10.5 3FGM/game), free throw percentage (.772) and assists (19.5 apg). The Lancers are also third in scoring margin (+13.6 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (32.5 rpg).

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for a two-game WAC series vs. Seattle U next weekend, Feb. 5-6. Tip-off each night inside the Burns Arena is slated for 7 p.m.