2021-22 Dixie State Trailblazers Men's Basketball (8-9 / 1-3 WAC)
Game No. 18
at Seattle U (11-4 / 2-0 WAC)
Saturday, January 15 / 1 p.m. (PT)
Redhawk Center (999); Seattle, Wash.
 

Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | SEATTLE U
Live TV: ESPN+
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: NONE
Live Stats: at SEATTLE U
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @DIXIESTATEBBALL | #DixieBlazers | #WeAreONE | #WACmbb | #WAChoops

OPENING TIP: Dixie State (8-9/1-3 WAC) wraps up its West Coast trip this Saturday when the Blazers travel north to the "Emerald City" for a matinee at Seattle U. Tip-off inside the Redhawk Center is slated for 1 p.m. (PT).

DIXIE STATE VS. SEATTLE U: Dixie State is 1-2 all-time vs. Seattle U, which includes a 1-1 mark in WAC play. Last season the two side split a pair of league games in St. George, with DSU narrowly defeating the Redhawks by a 77-76 count (2/5/21) in the first D-I meeting. However SU evened the season series with a 77-56 triumph (2/6/21) on DSU 's home floort one night later.  
    Saturday's game will also be the second time the two sides have squared off in Seattle. In DSU's first NCAA season in 2006-07, the Redhawks dealt the Blazers an 87-70 road loss (12/29/06).

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State Division I home and select road games  this season (excluding Saturday's game at SU) 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: Dixie State broke into the WAC win column and halted a four-game skid with a thrilling 79-76 come-from-behind victory at California Baptist last Wednesday night in Riverside.
    Trailing 76-68 with 1:26 to play, DSU forced four Lancer turnovers, which led to 11-unanswered points, as the Blazers erased the deficit and escaped with the improbable three-point win. Thanks in part to a career-high 26 points from junior guard Cameron Gooden, DSU survived 12 ties and 18 lead changes to not only snap CBU's 11-game home court win streak, but also match its overall win total from last year's D-I debut season (8-13).  

JUDKINS NOW NO. 1 IN UTAH: Head Coach Jon Judkins became the all-time winningest head coach in Utah collegiate basketball history with career victory No. 583 in DSU's 114-49 home rout of SAGU-AIC back on Dec. 15.
    Judkins moved past legendary Utah head women's basketball coach Elaine Elliott (582-324) atop the state's all-time coaching victories list (men's and women's). That list also includes a pair of former Dixie State coaches in Dave Rose (1990-97 before moving on to BYU) and Stan Watts (1941-45 before moving on to Utah), along with such names at Stew Morrill (Utah State) and Rick Majerus (Utah).
    Judkins currently owns a 585-283 (.674) overall record during his time at both Dixie State and Snow College (1992-2005).
    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 was 284-128 on the Badger sideline. Also of note, his older brother Jeff Judkins, who is currently the head women's coach at BYU, is sixth on the state's all-time collegiate wins list (442-201).

CHALK UP ANOTHER MILESTONE WIN FOR COACH: Coach Judkins also reached his second career milestone in as many games as he won his 300th game as Dixie State head coach in DSU's 78-69 victory at North Dakota (12/18).
    Coach Judkins is currently 301-155 (.660) in 16-plus years at Dixie State, including a 281-143 (.662) mark in the program's NCAA era.

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.  

HOME SWEET HOME: Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 146-39 (.789) overall record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins. Despite the loss to ACU last Saturday, and bolstered by a 5-1 homestand last month, the Blazers are 6-3 at home this season, this after going 5-7 in their D-I debut season last year, 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-plus 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 improved to 2-6 (2-5 in true road games) away from home this season after Wednesday's win at CBU.
    DSU 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 136-105 (.564) in 241 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins, which includes a 108-83 record (.565) in true road games, and a 28-22 mark (.560) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure. That neutral mark includes last month's Texas State (11/19 in Northridge, Calif.) game, which served as the Blazers' first neutral court tilt in the program's new D-I era.
    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.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN....BANG: After draining a combined 55 3-pointers over a four-game stretch prior leading into its non-conference finale at SUU (12/22), Dixie State has hit just 28 combined treys over its last five games overall. DSU was held to a season-low two trifectas (2-of-11; .111) in the home loss to Abilene Christian (1/1), but came back with consecutive seven made 3FG outings against both UVU (7-of-26; 1/8) and CBU (7-of-20).
     DSU closed out its six-game homestand with at least 10 made 3-pointers in three-straight games, this after only doing it just 21 total times the previous 417 NCAA era games overall. The Blazers knocked down 11 treys in the Saint Katherine win (12/4), and followed that up with a then-school record 16 3FGM vs. Denver at week later (12/11).  
    The Blazers then went off against SAGU-AIC (12/15), hitting a school record 21 3-pointers, which was one of five 3FG school records to fall that night. DSU also broke records for first half 3FGM (10), second half 3FGM (11), and for 3FG attempted (37). In addition, 11 different Trailblazers hit at least one 3-pointer, which was another school record.
    Dixie State has now hit at least one 3-pointer in 127-straight games. In addition, DSU has hit at least one three pointer in 328 of its last 330 games overall, and in 422 of the program's 426 NCAA-era games, which began in the 2006-07 season, with 24 total games of at least 10 3FGM.

NINETY AND NINE: For the first time in the program's NCAA era, Dixie State scored 97 or more points in three-straight games when the Blazers lit the scoreboard for 99 points twice against Bethesda (11/30 and 12/1), and 97 vs. USK (12/4).
    Then after an 82-point night in the Denver win (12/11), DSU erupted for a season-high 114 points in the SAGU-AIC win (12/15), which is the second-most points in the program's NCAA era. In all, DSU averaged 93.5 points over its six-game homestand (11/27-12/18).
    Dixie State is 56-6 all-time when scoring at least 90 points, including a 43-5 mark in games of 90-99 points, and a 13-1 record when the Blazers eclipse the century mark.

BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Junior guard Cameron Gooden is well on his way to possibly earning his second WAC Player of the Week award after his career night at CBU last Wednesday ... the junior guard poured in a game and career-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting with three 3-pointers (3-of-4 3FG) ... Gooden also went 7-of-9 at the foul line and finished with six rebounds and four assists in nearly 35 minutes of game action.
* - Gooden earned Dixie State's first WAC award this season when he was named WAC Player of the Week back on Dec. 13, after he scored a then-season high 22 points and dished out six assists in the Denver home win (12/11).
* - Gooden earned All-Tournament Team honors at the CSUN Good Sam Empire Classic, which was highlighted by 20 points and a career-best eight rebounds at CSUN (11/13) ... Gooden also led DSU in scoring against both Texas State (18 pts; 11/19) and at then-No. 24 USC (17 pts; 11/22) on that three-game SoCal trip.
* - Gooden dished out a career-high nine assists and had 10 points in DSU's home win over Southern Utah (11/12) ... his nine dimes bested his previous career high of six set in the win at California Baptist (79-75; 1/30/21) last season.
* - Gooden has recorded four or more assists 19 times over his 37-game Trailblazer career.
* - Gooden has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 starts this season, with three 20-plus point nights, and in 28 of 37 games as a Trailblazer ... additionally he has led or co-led the team in scoring 18 times overall.
* - With all apologies to TNT's legendary studio host Ernie Johnson Jr. - here is the "DSU SID Neat-O Stat of the Night" for this weekend's game at Seattle U - Gooden, who stands at 5-11, has the same number of offensive rebounds (11) and defensive bounds (57) through 17 games this season (68; 4.0 rpg) as he had in all 21 starts last season (68; 3.2 rpg).
* - Senior forward Hunter Schofield bounced back after his rough outing at UVU (1/8) with his second double-double of the year, and seventh of his career, with 16 points and 10 boards at CBU last Wednesday ... Schofield hit on 5-of-8 from the floor with two 3-pointers, while all 10 of his caroms came on the defensive glass.
* - Schofield has scored 10 or more points in 13 of his 17 starts this season, and in 24 of his last 32 games dating back to the 2020-21 campaign.
* - Dixie State is 6-1 this season when Schofield scores 15 or more points, which includes a season-high 29 points in the home win over Southern Utah (11/12) ... Schofield also poured in 18 and 17 points in back-to-back wins over Bethesda (11/30-12/1), and tallied 18 points in the road victory at North Dakota (12/18).
* - Schofield entered some rarefied air in game one vs. Bethesda (11/30) when he went a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor en route to his 18-point night ... the senior joined former Trailblazers Mark Ogden Jr. (9-of-9 vs. Holy Names; 12/20/14) and Steven Larson (11-of-11 at Montana State-Billings; 11/16/12) as the only other players in DSU's NCAA era to post a perfect shooting night with at least nine made field goals.
* - Schofield goes into Saturday's game at Seattle U needing 20 more points to become the eighth player in DSU's NCAA era to reach the 1,000 point plateau ... Schofield is also four caroms shy of 400 career rebounds, which will make him the sixth player to reach that milestone.
* - When Schofield surpasses both milestones, he will become the fourth player in DSU's four-year era to join the 1,000-point/400 rebound club ... former DSU All-Americans Zach Robbins (2009-15; 1,470 pts/932 rbs) and Trevor Hill (2014-18; 1,441 pts/596 rbs) are ranked 1-2, respectively, on both career lists, while former DSU guard Ryan Sanchez (2006-09) stands fourth in career rebounds (474) and fifth in career points (1,052).  
* - Schofield is currently third on DSU's career scoring list (14.4 ppg), fourth in FGM (380), sixth in rebounds (396), t-sixth in rebounding average (5.8 rpg), and eighth in points (980 pts) and in FG% (.515) ... he also moved into t-seventh in career starts (59) and ninth in career blocks (34).
* - Sophomore forward Frank Staine poured in a season-high 17 points at USC (11/22) ... the Inglewood native also knocked down three 3-pointers to go with one rebound and a steal in 24 minutes in his return to his Los Angeles hometown area.
* - Staine saw his streak of scoring in double figures stopped at five-straight starts after he tallied nine points at North Dakota (12/18), though he did hit for 10 points in the Tarleton loss (12/30), and led the Blazers with 15 points at UVU last Saturday ... Staine was limited to seven points at CBU last Wednesday, though he did dish out a season-high three assists, including his biggest dime of the night on Isaiah Pope's GW-basket with 7.1 seconds left.
* - Staine also did the job on the defensive end at UVU as he picked off a career-high five steals, which is t-fifth on DSU's single game list ... Staine became the 12th different Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to record five or more steals in a game, and he is the first to do it since Gooden collected five steals in DSU's loss at California Baptist last season (1/29/21).
* - As a team, DSU racked up 10 steals off of 19 UVU turnovers, marking the fifth time this season that the Blazer defense recorded 10 or more steals in a game.
* - Staine has scored 10 or more points in eight of his last 13 outings overall, including 15 points on 5-of-5 from 3-point country vs. SAGU-AIC (12/15).
* - In fact, Staine became the first player in Dixie State's NCAA era to hit his first five 3-point attempts.
* - Staine has vaulted into DSU's career 3FG shooting ranks, where he is currently sixth in 3FGM (92), 3FGA (238) and 3FG% (.386).
* - Freshman forward Trevon Allfrey just missed his third (and fifth career) double-digit scoring game this season after he finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting at SUU (12/22) ... Allfrey also collected three rebounds and blocked a shot in 10 minutes off the bench.
* - Allfrey recorded his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the game one win vs. Bethesda (11/30) ... Allfrey went 5-for-5 from both the field and the charity stripe in 18 reserve minutes.
* - Meanwhile, junior guard Brock Gilbert flirted with a double-double in his own right in game two vs. Bethesda (12/1) ... the 5-10 guard dished out six assists and pulled down a career-best eight rebounds to go with two points and two steals in 23 minutes of action ... Gilbert also tied a season-high with eight assists vs. Saint Katherine (8 vs. SUU - 11/12).
* - Gilbert tallied a WAC career high six points on 2-of-4 from the perimeter vs. ACU last Saturday ... in fact, both of Gilbert's made threes allowed DSU's current streak of 125-straight games with a made 3-pointer to continue.   
* - Junior forward Dancell Leter has scored in double figures in four of his last five starts, including 12 points - eight in the second half - in the road win at CBU last Wednesday ... Leter also had 15 points vs. Abilene Christian (1/1) and consecutive 13-point outings at SUU (12/22) and Tarleton (12/30).  
* - Leter has scored 10 or more points eight times overall this season, highlighted by a career-high 17 points vs. Weber State (11/27).
* - Freshman guard Noa Gonsalves earned his first collegiate start in the ACU loss (1/1), thanks in part to 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in a career-high 27 minutes of action off the bench in the Tarleton loss (12/30).
* - Gonsalves' 11 points were one off of his career high of 12 set in the road win at North Dakota (12/18), against which he went 5-of-7 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers, on his way to WAC Freshman of the Week (12/20) honors.
* - Freshman guard Andre Mulibea picked off a career-high three steals in the road loss at SUU (12/22).
* - Mulibea was one of five Blazers to score in double figures with 11 points vs. Saint Katherine (12/4) ... in fact, all 11 of Mulibea's points, including three 3-pointers, came over the last 2:47 of the first half as he accounted for all but two of DSU's final 13 points of the frame.
* - Mulibea also knocked down what turned out to be both initial record-breaking 3-pointers, including the 14th trey vs. Denver (12/11), and the 17th trifecta vs. SAGU-AIC (12/15).
* - After throwing down just three total dunks in 21 games last season, the Trailblazers already have 10 dunks through the first 17 games this year - all of which have come over the last 13 games, including three flushes vs. Saint Katherine (12/4) ... Leter is the current team leader in dunks with five, including a break-away jam at SUU (12/22), and another flush vs. Tarleton (12/30).
* - DSU's bench combined to outscore the SAGU-AIC reserves by a whopping 64-18 margin (12/15) ... the 64 bench points eclipsed the previous season-high of 57 set in game one vs. Bethesda (11/30), against which the Blazer reserves combined to outscore their Flame counterparts by a 101-55 clip in the two wins.
* - Through 17 games, DSU's bench has outscored its opponent reserves by a 496-374 margin (29.2 ppg-22.0 ppg), and in 11 of 17 games (with one tie) overall this season.  
* - Sophomore guard Isaiah Pope and junior forward Jacob Nicolds accounted for half of DSU's 30 bench points at UVU last Saturday ... Pope tallied a season-high 13 points and pulled down four rebounds, while Nicolds added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting with two 3-pointers and four caroms.
* - In fact, Pope's effort at UVU earned him the start at CBU last Wednesday, and he responded by filling the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 28 minutes ... Pope's biggest points of the night came with 7.1 seconds when he knocked down a leaner in the key, got fouled, and completed the conventional three-point play to give DSU the lead for good.   
* - Thanks to Pope's start, the bench tallied a season-low eight points as the five DSU starters combined to score a season-high 71 of the team's 79 points ... the previous starting line-up season high was 66 set in the Saint Katherine win (97-65; 12/4).  
* - Last season DSU outscored its opponent reserves by a 466-406 margin (22.2-19.3 ppg) in 21 games (11-of-21 games) ... in 2019-20, DSU reserves outscored its opponents' reserves in 22 of 30 games played (748-571/24.9 ppg-19.0 ppg).
* - While the Blazer offense hitting on all cylinders in the sweep of Bethesda, the Dixie State defense came up just as clutch as the Trailblazers broke the program's NCAA era single-game steals record with 18 in game two win (12/1) ... DSU forced 23 Flames' miscues on the night, which led to 28 Blazer points.
* - The 18 steals eclipsed the previous record of 17 set twice, most recently at home vs. Dominican more than 10 years ago (2/10/11). DSU also had 17 steals at Adams State (11/18/06) in the program's third-ever NCAA game.
* - Since the 2016-17, Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in just 49 of its last 148 games overall, though the Blazers have shot better than 50 percent four times through 17 games this season.
* - DSU shot a season-high 57.6 percent (34-of-59) vs. Saint Katherine (12/4), and 51.9 percent vs. SAGU-AIC (12/15).
*- DSU only shot better than 50 percent twice last season, the first being a season-high 63.2 percent vs. Bethesda (12/19/20) ... that performance broke a string of 66 games between the last time the Trailblazers shot at least 60 percent from the floor (60.0% vs. Holy Names - 2/19/18).
* - Also dating back to the 2016-17 season, Dixie State has had 73 of its last 151 games decided by nine points or less, including 14 of 38 games to this point of the program's Division I transition, with five of those occasions coming this season (3-2 overall).
* - Dixie State crashed the boards in its sweep of Bethesda as the Blazers owned a plus-44 rebound margin in the two wins ... in fact DSU's 59 rebounds in game one (11/30) are the third-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, while the 56 caroms in game two (12/1) are tied for seventh-most overall.
* - In addition, the two-game stretch also marked the first time in the program's four-year era that Dixie State posted consecutive 50-plus rebound games.
* - DSU also matched its season high with 59 rebounds in the SAGU-AIC win (59-33 rebound margin) ... freshman Trey Edmonds cleared a game and career-high eight of those missed shots to go with a career-best eight points off the bench.  
* - Uncharacteristically, Dixie State lost the "Battle of the Boards" in 12 of 21 games last season, though it has outrebounded its opponent in 11 of 17 games this season (7-4) ... overall, the Blazers have outrebounded an opponent in 86 of its last 124 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.

ABOUT THE SEATTLE U "REDHAWKS": Seattle U (11-4) enters Saturday's game winners of three-straight and four of its last five overall, including a 2-0 start in WAC play after posting a 93-77 road win at Chicago State (1/6), and a 71-65 come-from-behind home win over Utah Valley last Wednesday night
    Three Redhawks average more than 13 points a game, highlighted by sophomore guard Darrion Trammell (5-10), who leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) and assists (5.5 apg). Meanwhile, sophomore guard Cameron Tyson (6-2) is second on the team in scoring (15.5) and is Seattle U's top rebounder (6.0 rpg) and 3-point threat (53-of-131; .405).
    As a team, Seattle U averages 77.1 ppg on 44.1 percent shooting through 15 games while allowing 65.9 ppg. The Redhawks also average a WAC-best 10.7 3FGM, along with 37.4 rpg and 14.8 assists per game.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns to the Burns Arena for a brief two-game homestand next weekend, starting with a date vs. WAC newcomer Lamar on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m.