Hunter Schofield led four Trailblazer starters in double figures with a game-high 23 points as Dixie State won its third straight, 79-65, at Chicago State on Saturday afternoon in the Jones Convocation Center.
The Trailblazers have now won four out of their last five overall to move to 11-10 on the year, 4-4 in WAC play.
DSU broke open an early back-and-forth game with a 13-4 spurt to turn a slim two-point lead into a 27-16 cushion with 7:26 to go in the first half. The Blazers would push that advantage to 16 points at 38-22, but the Cougars would knock down a pair of 3-pointers and converted an "and-one" late to pare the DSU lead to 43-31 at the intermission.
Dixie State led by as many 17 points early in the second half, but the Cougars roared back with a 17-5 run to make it a two-possession game at 57-52 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The Blazers countered with seven-straight over the next two minutes, including an
Isaiah Pope 3-pointer, to push the lead back to double digits at 64-52.
However Dixie State could not quite put Chicago State away as again the Cougars pulled to within five at 68-63 with 3:47 to go.
DSU finally delivered the knockout blow, and it was
Dancell Leter who provided it with a clutch corner three with 2:49 remaining.
Then after a
Frank Staine steal, Leter took the outlet and sprinted for a breakaway jam as DSU outscored Chicago State 11-2 to close out the game.
Schofield reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth-straight game as he connected on 7-of-14 from the field with two 3-pointers to go with a 7-of-8 effort at the line. Schofield (1,072 pts), who finished with seven rebounds and one block, also moved into fifth place on DSU's career scoring list.
Meanwhile Leter posted his first DSU double-double with 13 points and a game and career-high 11 rebounds. Pope added 12 points and three boards and
Cameron Gooden poured in 10 points and had two assists.
Dixie State shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the floor, including a 53.6 percent clip in the first half. The Blazers also hit on 6-of-16 (.375) from the perimeter and went 23-of-27 (.852) at the foul line. In addition, DSU outrebounded Chicago State 42-29 and finished with 14 assists on its 25 made baskets.
Coreyoun Rushin led three Cougar players in double figures with 19 points. CSU was limited to 39.3 percent (24-of-61) shooting, 28.0 percent (7-of-25) from beyond the arc.
Dixie State will make the first of two trips to Texas next weekend for road dates at WAC newcomers Sam Houston on Thursday, Feb. 3, and at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Feb. 5.
