Hunter Schofield led four Trailblazers in double figures with a game-high 26 points as Dixie State opened its final homestand of the season with a thrilling 80-75 overtime victory over in-state rival Utah Valley inside a raucous Burns Arena on Saturday night.
 
The win, DSU's first overall win the "Old Hammer Rivalry" this season, moved the Blazers to 13-14 overall, 6-8 in WAC play. Dixie State also announced the attendance at 4,270, which is the fifth-largest crowd to attend a DSU home game in the program's NCAA era, and is the largest crowd in the Blazers' new D-I era.
 
Overtime did not look like it would be a possibility when, after an Isaiah Pope bucket gave DSU a 62-58 lead with 5:45 left in the second half, the Trailblazers would go more than five minutes without scoring another point. Dixie State was plagued by four costly turnovers, while the Blazers misfired on the front end of two one-and-ones and missed four total free throws during their ill-timed drought.
 
Meanwhile UVU (17-9/8-6 WAC) scored 11-straight points over that stretch en route to a commanding 69-62 lead with 37 seconds to go following a pair of Justin Harmon free throws.
 
Dancell Leter ended the Blazer dry spell with a 3-pointer on DSU's next possession. Then after Harmon missed the front end of a one-and-one, Noa Gonsalves found Schofield in the low block, and the senior finished the chance to make it a two-point game at 69-67 with 14.9 seconds left.
 
Dixie State's defense nearly came up with a steal on UVU's ensuing inbounds play, but the Blazers were forced to foul Connor Harding, who hit his first free throw to put the Wolverines up three.

However Harding missed the second, and Leter cleared the rebound to Cameron Gooden, who raced the length of the court and challenged UVU center Fardaws Aimaq at the rim. The junior point guard won the challenge with a lay-up and the drew the foul, which Gooden knocked down to tie the game at 70-70 with 6.2 on the clock.
 
Leter then came up with a clutch block on a Harmon drive in the final seconds to force overtime.
 
Utah Valley drew first blood with two Harding free throws, but Gooden countered with another "And One" to put DSU up 73-72.
 
Then after an Aimaq free throw tied the game at 73, Frank Staine knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game to put the Blazers up three. However on the make, Aimaq drew his fifth and final foul while battling Schofield for rebound position.
 
Schofield hit both free throws to extend the DSU lead to five at 78-73 with 2:07 left, but the Blazers could not quite put Utah Valley away. The Wolverines trailed by three after splitting two trips to the foul line and had a chance to tie after a Blazer turnover game them the ball back with 18 seconds left.
 
Harding got a good look at a tying trey with 12 seconds left, but Gooden was able to corral the rebound and clear ahead to Staine, who was quickly fouled to stop the clock. Staine converted both charity tosses with 5.6 seconds left to provide the final margin of victory.
 
Schofield scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half, which helped rally the Blazers from an early nine-point deficit and take a 36-32 lead at the half. Schofield's 26 points also moved into fourth place on DSU's career points list (1,158 pts), while his seven rebounds on the night vaulted him into fourth all-time in career rebounds (466 rbs).
 
Gooden filled the stat sheet with 16 points, five boards and four assists. The junior guard scored 14 of those points after halftime, though his two points in the first half came on a thunderous hammer dunk over two Wolverine defenders that gave the Blazers their first lead of the night.
 
Staine finished with 12 points along with a team-high eight rebounds and four dimes, and Pope chipped in 10 points before fouling out.
 
Dixie State shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) for the game, though the Blazers shot nearly 47 percent in the second half and in overtime. DSU also knocked down a WAC season-high 12 3-pointers (12-of-31, .387), but was just 12-of-21 (.571) at the foul line.
 
Aimaq, who leads all of Division I in double-doubles, posted his 23^rd of the year with 20 points and 21 rebounds, while Harmon wound up with 23 points and nine caroms. UVU connected on 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field and outrebounded DSU by a 47-39 count.
 
Dixie State continues the homestand next Thursday, Feb. 24, when the Trailblazers welcome WAC (and former PacWest) rival California Baptist to the Burns Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.