Dixie State could not overcome a big California Baptist second half run as the Trailblazers saw their winless streak reach a NCAA-era high seven games in an 89-74 loss on Friday night inside the CBU Events Center.

The two former Pacific West Conference rivals battled back-and-forth throughout a very entertaining first half battle that saw five ties and 10 lead changes.

Dixie State (4-8/0-5 WAC) rode a balanced offensive attack in the period as seven different Blazers scored in the frame. Cameron Gooden led the way for DSU with eight first half points, highlighted by a steal and breakaway lay-in that spotted DSU a 31-30 lead with 4:02 on the clock.

However the Lancers (8-4/3-2 WAC) would close the half with an 11-4 spurt to take a 41-35 lead into the intermission.

The Trailblazers stayed within striking distance in the opening minutes of the second stanza and pulled to within 47-45 after a Frank Staine 3-pointer with 16:37 remaining.

From there it was all Lancers as CBU scored 10-straight points to break the game open and force DSU Head Coach Jon Judkins to call timeout.

Staine knocked down another jumper right out of the timeout to briefly stop the run, but CBU kept the momentum going, outscoring Dixie State 19-4 over a four-plus minute span to extend to a 66-49 advantage with 12:08 left.

California Baptist, which hit 13 3-pointers in the game, nailed four of its eight second-half treys in its decisive run to open up the double-digit cushion. The Blazers got to within 12 on a couple of occasions, but the Lancers had it on cruise control on their way to their fifth-straight win.

"This was a tough one tonight, I thought our guys were playing hard and I loved the effort they were giving out there," Coach Judkins said. "We had some letdowns on the defensive end that just hurt us.

"We talk about teams going on runs every time and [CBU] went on two runs that changed the game," Judkins added. "Every team has runs and you have to stop them, and how you stop them is one – you play defense, and two – you have to get to the foul line yourself. You shoot bad shots or have bad possessions or turnovers, and that's like adding gasoline to a fire."

Hunter Schofield scored 17 of season-high tying 23 points in the second half to lead three Blazers in double figures. The senior forward hit on 8-of-15 from the floor and finished with nine rebounds and a career-high two blocks.

Staine wound up with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, while Gooden poured in 17 points to go with two assists and a career-high five steals.

Dixie State shot 40.3 percent overall (27-of-67), but was only 11-of-32 (.344) from the floor in the second half. DSU also hit on just 5-of-21 (.238) from the perimeter and were outrebounded by 39-34 count, 25-16 in the second half. The Blazers did take care of the ball as they were tagged for only 10 turnovers and finished with 18 assists on their 27 made baskets.

CBU only played eight players on the night, and six of them scored in double figures, led by Ty Rowell's 18 points with four 3-pointers. The Lancers hit on 50.8 percent (30-of-59) of their shots and wound up going 13-of-31 (.419) from beyond the arc.

"We'll get back to the drawing board, we'll watch film and get them ready to for tomorrow," said Judkins "[CBU is] tired, we're tired, and now it's going to be more of a mental game tomorrow, but we'll get our guys ready."

The two teams will complete the two-game weekend conference set on Saturday night in Riverside beginning at 6 p.m. (PT). 

POSTGAME NOTES:
* - Friday night's game was Dixie State's 400th game as an NCAA competing member. DSU is 270-130 (.675) all-time since transitioning to NCAA four-year status in 2006-07.
* - Dixie State extended its streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer to 101-straight games, including five made trifectas Friday night (5-of-21). DSU has hit at least one 3-pointer in 302 of its last 304 games, and in 397 of 400 NCAA-era contests.
*- Gooden became just the 10th different player in DSU's NCAA era to record at least five steals in a game.