Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (1-1/0-0 WAC) returns to action this weekend as the Trailblazers head to southern California for a three-game road swing.
    The first two games of the trip will be played this Friday and Saturday at the 2021 Good Sam Empire Classic, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project and presented by Continental Tire.
    DSU will open the four-team tournament vs. Texas State (1-2) on Friday beginning at 11 a.m. (PT), which will be followed by game two featuring Eastern Washington (1-2) and host CSUN (0-2) at 2 p.m. (PT).
    Then on Saturday, the two losing teams will play in the third-place game at 12 noon (PT), while the championship game will take place that evening at 8 p.m. (PT).

DIXIE STATE VS. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD: Friday's game vs. Texas State will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Bobcats on the hardwood. In addition, DSU has not face either CSUN or Eastern Washington on the basketball court.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State Division I home and select road games this season will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with Devin Dixon calling the play-by-play action and former DSU assistant coach Mike Olson providing color commentary. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available at sportsradio977.com.
    Along with the radio coverage, all Dixie State home games and Western Athletic Conference games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
     In August, the WAC announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement with the "The Worldwide Leader" that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior forward Hunter Schofield led four Trailblazers in double figures as Dixie State posted its first win of the 2021-22 season with an 83-76 home victory over in-state rival Southern Utah last Friday night inside the Burns Arena.
    DSU broke open a tightly contested first half with a 15-2 run on its way to a commanding 47-30 halftime lead. SUU mounted a furious second-half comeback and made a one possession game late in regulation, but the Blazers managed to stave off the rally to come away with the big home win.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED 12TH IN THE WAC: Dixie State was voted to finish 12th by both the coaches and the media as the Western Athletic Conference announced its 2021-22 conference men's basketball preseason polls on Oct. 19.
    New Mexico State was overwhelming pick to reclaim its crown in 2021-22 as the Aggies received eight first place votes and 138 points in the coaches' poll, and was favorite among the media pollsters as well.
    Defending WAC champion Grand Canyon collected three first place votes and 131 points to finish second in the coaches' rankings, while the Lopes were voted third in the media poll. Meanwhile, conference newcomer Stephen F. Austin garnered one first place nod and 106 points to finish third in the coaches' poll and second in the media poll.
    The rest of the coaches poll listed Utah Valley (103 pts) in fourth, WAC newcomer (and 2020-21 Southland champion) Abilene Christian (1 FPV; 92 pts) in fifth, Seattle U (90 pts) in sixth, WAC newcomer Sam Houston (86 pts) in seventh, California Baptist (84 pts) in eighth, Tarleton State (48) and UTRGV (48 pts) in t-ninth, conference newcomer Lamar (41 pts) in 11th, DSU (35 pts) in 12th, and Chicago State (12 pts) in 13th.
    Rounding out the media poll was ACU in fourth, followed by UVU, CBU, SHSU, Seattle U, Tarleton, Lamar, UTRGV, DSU and CSU.  

578 AND COUNTING: Head Coach Jon Judkins enters the 2021-22 season on the cusp of becoming the all-time leader in coaching victories in Utah college basketball history. Over his first 27 years as a head coach, Judkins currently owns a 578-275 (.677) overall record, including a 294-147 (.667) mark in 17-plus years at Dixie State (274-135 - NCAA era).
    Judkins now stands five wins shy of passing 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.
    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. Prior to his arrival at DSU, Judkins spent 12 full seasons at Snow (UT) College, where he went 284-128 on the Badger sideline.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 141-36 (.796) overall record in the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, which includes the SUU win last Friday, along with a 5-7 record last season, and a 12-2 mark in DSU's final D-II year in 2019-20.
    In fact, DSU has recorded 13 home winning season records in 15 years of NCAA competition overall, though last season's 5-7 result was the first time in that 13-year winning stretch that the Blazers did not finish above .500 at home.
    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 finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-6 overall road mark, which snapped an 11-year run that saw DSU post a winning road record.
    The last time Dixie State did not come away with a winning road record was all the way back in the 2007-08 season, when it went 4-11 away from home in the program's second year of Division-II competition.
    Dixie State is now 134-100 (.572) in 234 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins following the loss at No. 1 Gonzaga (11-9).
    DSU owns a 106-79 record (.573) 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 15 NCAA campaigns overall, including a program best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State is now 82-72 (.532) all-time against non-conference opponents in 15-plus seasons of NCAA competition. That record includes a 4-3 record in the Blazers' NCAA D-I debut last season, a 6-2 mark in the program's last D-II season in 2019-20, and an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07).
    Additionally, DSU owns a combined 7-14 postseason record (4-4 PacWest, 1-2 RMAC, 2-8 NCAA).
    DSU has recorded eight winning seasons in non-conference games in its four-year era, highlighted by a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4).

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: Dixie State's loss at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) snapped Dixie State's modest two-game season opening win streak. DSU is now an even 8-8 all-time in season-opening games during the program's NCAA era.
    On the flip side, the Blazers moved to 12-4 in 16 their Burns Arena debuts as a four-year program after the SUU last Friday, and DSU has won nine of its last 10 home openers overall.  

RELEASE...ROTATION...SPLASH: Dixie State has hit at least one 3-pointer in 112-straight games, including eight made treys at Gonzaga (11/9), and six more vs. SUU last Friday.
    Dixie State reached double figures in made 3-pointers three times last season, all of which resulted in Trailblazer wins, which included 12 made treys (12-of-29) in a home win vs. Saint Katherine (12/5).
    That effort was one off the school record of 13 first set at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008, while the Blazers have reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 21 times in its four-year era overall.
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 313 of its last 315 games overall, and in 408 of the program's 411 NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN...CLANG: While Dixie State knocked 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).

"SCORE"FIELD GETTING IT DONE IN-STATE: Senior forward Hunter Schofield continued his dominant play against in-state opponents with a season-high 29 points in DSU's 83-76 win over Southern Utah last Friday night.
    The senior knocked down 12 of his 19 shot attempts, including 8-of-12 shooting in the first half, and just missed his chance to tie or set a new career high in points after he fouled out with 1:12 to play.
    In six career games vs. in-state opponents, Schofield is averaging an even 20.0 points on nearly 57 percent shooting, highlighted by a career-high 31 points (11-of-16 FG) in a road win at Utah Valley last February (2/13/21). In addition, Schofield has scored double figures in five of those six in-state games overall with three 25-plus point outings.
    Schofield's big night also vaulted him into 10th-place on DSU's all-time scoring list (793 points) and he is seven points shy of becoming the 10th player in DSU's NCAA era to reach the career 800-point plateau.

GOODEN-PLENTY: Junior guard Cameron Gooden picked up right where he left off from last season as went for a team-high 15 points in 31 minutes at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9). Gooden hit on 6-of-12 shots to go with a team-high five assists and three rebounds.
    The junior then followed that up with 10 points and a career-high nine assists in the win over Southern Utah last Friday night. His nine dimes bested his previous career high of six set at California Baptist (1/30/21) last season.
    Gooden has now scored in double figures in 15 of 22 games as a Trailblazer and has led the team in scoring 10 times overall. Gooden also paced the Blazers with 20 points at Gonzaga last season (12/29/20), which was three points off his career high of 23 set in a road win at Denver (12/12/20).

BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Junior forward Dancell Leter made the most of his Trailblazer debut, pouring in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) ... Leter, who got the start, also collected four boards, one steal and one block in 23 minutes.
* - Sophomore guard Isaiah Pope just missed reaching double figures at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) as he finished with eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in 14 reserve minutes.
* - Sophomore forward Frank Staine notched his first double-digit game of the year with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting vs. SUU last Friday ... Staine, who scored in double figures in 10 of 20 games last year with a pair of 19-point nights, has scored 10 or more points in 24 of his 52 career games as a Trailblazer ... the sophomore is also four 3-pointers shy of moving into 10th place on DSU's career 3FGM list.  
* - Junior guard Brock Gilbert made his fourth career start in the SUU win last Friday night and responded with a season-high eight assists to go with two points, one rebound and steal ... Gilbert and Gooden, combined for 17 assists to just three turnovers against the Thunderbirds.
* - Gilbert also started at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9) and went for five points on 2-of-3 shooting along with four rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.
* - Freshman guard Noa Gonsalves led the Blazers with five rebounds in his collegiate debut at No. 1 Gonzaga (11/9), and hit his first shot attempt - a 3-pointer - which helped kick start a late first-half rally ... Gonsalves followed that up with seven points on 3-of-3 shooting with another trey in 17 minutes vs. SUU last Friday.
* - Freshman forward Trevon Allfrey capped Dixie State's big first half run vs. SUU with a conventional 3-point play as part of a 10-point, three-rebound night ... the freshman hit three of his four shot attempts and blocked a shot in just over nine reserve minutes.  
* - Dixie State wrapped up its first year of D-I play with an 8-13 overall record, which included a 4-10 mark in WAC play ... the Trailblazers posted six wins against Division I opponents in its debut season at the D-I level.
* - DSU was the only program in the WAC that did not have to go through an extended COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and was the only team in the conference to play their full slate of league games (not including the Chicago State season shutdown).
* - Schofield was named to the 2020-21 CoSIDA Division I Men's Basketball CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team ... Schofield (3.95 GPA) is the third Trailblazer player in the program's NCAA era to earn Second Team Academic All-America honors, joining former Blazers Josh Fuller (2016-17) and Brandon Simister (2017-18) on the prestigious list.
* - DSU's bench outscored Southern Utah's reserves by a 37-20 count last Friday night ... last season DSU outscored its opponent reserves by a 466-406 margin (22.2-19.3 ppg) in 21 games (11-of-21 games overall) ... in 2019-20, DSU reserves outscored its opponents' reserves in 22 of 30 games played (748-571/24.9 ppg-19.0 ppg).
* - Since the 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in just 46 of its last 133 games overall, though the Blazers managed to shoot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) in the SUU win, including a 57.6 clip in the first half.
*- DSU only shot better than 50 percent twice last season, the first being 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).
* - DSU also shot a WAC (and D-I opponent) season high 51.7 percent (30-of-58) in the win at Utah Valley (2/13).
* - Also dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 69 of its last 136 games decided by nine points or less, including 10 of 23 games in D-I contents to this point of the program's transition.
* - Uncharacteristically, Dixie State lost the "Battle of the Boards" in 12 of 21 games last season, and was outrebounded by a 41-35 count vs. SUU last Friday ... overall, the Blazers have outrebounded an opponent in 75 of its last 107 games going 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.

UP NEXT: Dixie State wraps up its SoCal road trip on Monday night as the Trailblazers head to Los Angeles to tangle with No. 25 USC. Tip-off inside the Galen Center is slated for 8 p.m. (PT).