It took six games but the Dixie State Trailblazers finally cracked into the win column in Western Athletic Conference play as they mounted a furious second-half rally to defeat California Baptist, 79-75, on Saturday night inside the CBU Events Center. The win snapped DSU's seven-game losing streak as the Blazers improved to 5-8 overall, 1-5 in WAC play.

Things got off to a rocky start for the Blazers as CBU (8-5/3-3 WAC) looked like it picked up right where it left off from Friday night's win when Tre Armstrong and Reed Nottage opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers.

DSU answered with buckets from Jarod Greene and Frank Staine, but the Lancers countered with seven-straight points to race out to a 13-4 cushion just 3:38 into the contest.

Trailing 20-12 following another Nottage trey, Dixie State rattled off a 14-4 run of its own to erase the deficit and take a 26-24 lead at the 8:39 mark. Staine kick-started the rally with a perimeter jumper, while Jacob Nicolds and Cameron Gooden hit from downtown as well to help DSU claw its way back into the game.

The two sides then traded scores the rest of the period as DSU took a 37-35 advantage into the halftime break.

The two teams started the second stanza like they ended the first by trading the lead back and forth before the Lancers began showing signs of pulling away after another Nottage 3-pointer gave CBU a 59-52 lead with 13:29 left.

Hunter Schofield answered with a trey of his own on DSU's next possession, which helped spur on a 9-0 spurt to that put the Blazers back on top at 61-59 after a Gooden lay-in at the 11:10 mark.

After CBU reclaimed the lead at 65-63 following an Elijah Thomas basket, Schofield nailed his second perimeter jumper of the half to give his side the lead back at 66-65 with 7:52 to play.

Dixie State would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way as the Blazers pushed their run to 25-11 to extend to a 77-70 advantage on a Staine jumper with 1:56 left.

Nottage would hit another trey to pull CBU to within 77-73, but DSU did just enough in the closing moments to hold on for the win.

"This feels pretty good, we've been close a number of times, but it was good to get that first WAC win tonight," Head Coach Jon Judkins said. "I saw some really good things out there tonight. Our guys didn't want to lose tonight, they battled and we are fortunate to come out with the win."

Gooden led four Blazers in double figures with 22 points, 13 of which came after halftime, including a clutch 3-pointer with 5:14 to go as he scored six of DSU's final nine points. Gooden finished with three made treys on the night and also dished out a career-high six assists.

Staine added 14 points, while Greene hit 6-of-10 from the floor on his way to 13 points, and Schofield chipped in 11.

Dixie State shot a WAC season-best 46.3 percent (31-of-67) in the game, including a 48.5 percent clip (16-of-33) in the second half. DSU also hit on 7-of-17 (.412) from the perimeter and had 17 assists on its 31 made shots. The Trailblazers also took care of the ball for the second-straight night as they turned the ball over just 11 times, while forcing 23 CBU miscues, which helped offset being outrebounded by the Lancers by a 46-29 margin.

Nottage led all scorers with 26 points, thanks in part to a 6-of-9 effort from beyond the arc. The Lancers connected on 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the floor and went 10-of-23 (.435) from the perimeter.

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.