2021-22 Dixie State Trailblazers Men's Basketball (11-12 / 4-6 WAC)
Game No. 24
vs. New Mexico State (19-3 / 9-1 WAC)
Thursday, February 10 / 7 p.m.
Burns Arena (4,779); St. George

 

Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | NM STATE - PDF
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OPENING TIP: Dixie State (11-12/4-6 WAC) begins a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play five of their next six games at home, beginning this Thursday night against vs. WAC leader New Mexico State (19-3/9-1 WAC). Tip-off inside the Burns Arena is set for 7 p.m.

DIXIE STATE VS. NM STATE: Dixie State enters Thursday's game looking to break through vs. the Aggies after NM State took both ends of a two-game set last year in St. George.
    The two sides met up in the final two games of the 2020-21 regular season, which the Aggies won by counts of 76-66 (3/5) and 68-56 (3/6).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State closed its two-game Texas road trip on the wrong end of an 81-52 decision at Stephen F. Austin last Saturday in Nacogdoches.
    DSU was done in once again by another poor shooting performance (.271 FG%), 25 turnovers, and a decisive 18-5 Lumberjack run in the second half as the Blazers wereswept in the "Lone Star State."
 
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 588-286 (.672) 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 (448-202).

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 304-158 (.658) in 16-plus years at Dixie State, including a 284-146 (.660) mark in the program's NCAA era.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State's home sweep of both Lamar and UTRGV last month moved the Trailblazer program to a 148-39 (.791) overall NCAA-era record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins. Bolstered by a 5-1 homestand in December, the Blazers are now 8-3 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 fell to 3-9 (3-8 in true road games) away from home this season after its loss at Stephen F. Austin last Saturday.  
    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 137-108 (.559) in 245 games away from home in its NCAA era under Coach Judkins, which includes a 109-86 record (.559) in true road games, and a 28-22 mark (.560) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure. That neutral mark includes November'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 to its non-conference finale at Southern Utah (12/22), Dixie State has hit just 62 combined treys over its last 11 games overall, including just three trifectas (3-of-23, .130) last Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
     DSU closed out its six-game homestand (11/27-12/15) 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 133-straight games. In addition, DSU has hit at least one three pointer in 334 of its last 336 games overall, and in 428 of the program's 432 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. Saint Katherine (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.

BIG GAME HUNTER: Senior forward Hunter Schofield will look to get back on track this week after battling foul trouble throughout last Saturday's loss at SFA. Schofield, who picked up two quick fouls in the first half, and was saddled with two more fouls before the under-16 media timeout in the second half, finished with a WAC season-low three points and five rebounds in the loss.
    Prior to Saturday's loss, the senior had averaged 20.5 points over his last six starts. He scored in double figures in all six games, including becoming the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to score 20 or more points in four-straight games. However he did see that streak end in the Sam Houston loss last Thursday, though he did lead DSU in scoring with 15 points.
    The senior began his 20-point run with a WAC season-high 25 at Seattle U (1/15), then followed that up with consecutive 22-point nights in home wins vs. Lamar (1/20) and UTRGV (1/22), before going for 23 points  in the win at Chicago State (1/29).
    Prior to DSU's win at CSU, Schofield was one of five Blazers in program history to score at least 20 points in three-straight games and was the second to do it twice (2019-20). Former Blazer swingman Tom Whitehead also achieved the feat twice in 2009-10 and again in 2010-11.
    Former DSU forward and assistant coach Kasey Winters was the first to do it in 2007-08, while Blazer All-American guard Trevor Hill added his name to that exclusive list in 2017-18, and former DSU forward Matt Conway followed suit a year later in 2018-19.

ON TARGET: 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.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Schofield has also averaged 8.0 rebounds, including 6.3 defensive caroms, with two double-doubles over his last seven games.  
    Schofield recorded his second double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 boards in the win at CBU (1/12), then just missed No. 3 at Seattle U (1/15) with eight rebounds to go with his 25 points.
    The senior did get his third double-double of the season, and eighth of his career, in the home win vs. Lamar (1/20) with game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds, and followed that up with 22 more points and seven rebounds vs. UTRGV (1/22).
    Schofield has scored 10 or more points in 18 of his 22 starts this season, and in 29 of his last 37 games dating back to the 2020-21 campaign, with 10 games of 20 or more points over that period.
    Dixie State is 9-3 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).

MR. 1000/400: Schofield became the fourth player in DSU's NCAA era to join the 1,000-point/400-rebound club, and was the first player to reach both numbers in the same game thanks to his banner day at Seattle U (1/15).  
    Schofield (1,090 pts/442 rbs) also became the eighth player in program history to reach the 1,000 point plateau, and the sixth player to record 400 or more career rebounds.
    The senior joined some elite company in the 1000/400 club, which includes former DSU All-Americans Zach Robbins (2009-15; 1,470 pts/932 rbs) and Hill (2014-18; 1,441 pts/596 rbs), who are ranked 1-2, respectively, on both career lists. Meanwhile, former DSU guard Ryan Sanchez (2006-09) stands fourth in career rebounds (474) and fifth in career points (1,052).  
    Schofield enters Thursday's game vs. NM State needing 10 points to become the fifth player to reach the 1,100-point plateau, and he is currently 24 rebounds away from vaulting into fourth place on DSU's career rebounds list.
    In addition, Schofield is currently third on DSU's career scoring (14.7 ppg) and FGM (420) lists, sixth in rebound average (5.9 rpg), and eighth all-time in FG% (.512), FTM (205) and blocks (40).

GOODEN-PLENTY: Junior guard Cameron Gooden had a night in last week's win at California Baptist (1/12), pouring 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.
    He then followed that up with 10 points, five dimes, four boards and three steals at Seattle U (1/15).
    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, highlighted by 20 points and a career-best eight rebounds at CSUN (11/13). The junior guard also led DSU in scoring against both Texas State (18 pts; 11/19) and at nationally-ranked 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), while he tied a WAC career-best with six dimes at Sam Houston last Thursday night. The junior has recorded four or more assists 23 times over his 44-game Trailblazer career.
    In addition, Gooden, who tallied 12 points at SFA last Saturday, has scored in double figures in 17 of 23 starts this season, with three 20-plus point nights, and in 30 of 44 games as a Trailblazer, while he has led or co-led the team in scoring 18 times overall.

BLAZING TRAILS:
* - Junior forward Dancell Leter has scored in double figures in eight of his last 11 starts, including a team-high 13 points in Saturday's loss at SFA ... the junior also pulled down six rebounds and picked off a career-high four steals in 29 minutes.  
* - Leter averaged 12.5 points on the Texas trip as he posted a 12-point, five-rebound night at Sam Houston last Thursday.
* - Leter recorded his first double-double as a Trailblazer after he went for 13 points and 11 rebounds at Chicago State (1/29) ... Leter had 8-and-8 at the intermission, and was sitting on those eight points until the 2:49 mark of the second half when he knocked down a dagger 3-pointer ... the junior then slammed home a breakaway jam after a Frank Staine steal on the Cougars' ensuing possession.
* - Leter has scored 10 or more points 12 times overall this season, highlighted by a career-high 17 points vs. Weber State (11/27).
* - Speaking of Frank Staine, the sophomore forward posted his first double-double of the season, and the third of his collegiate career, with 11 points and a season-high 10 rebounds in the UTRGV win (1/22) ... that performance came on the heels of him going for 11 and 5 in the Lamar victory (1/20) two nights earlier.  
* - 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 (1/8).
* - Staine also did the job on the defensive end at UVU (1/8) 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).
* - Staine (72 steals) broke into DSU's top-10 career steals list with two steals at SFA last Saturday ... he also tallied eight points and five rebounds in nearly 34 minutes of game action.  
* - Staine has scored 10 or more points in 10 of his last 19 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 (96) and 3FGA (256), and is ninth in 3FG% (.375).
* - 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 of his own 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. Abilene Christian (1/1) ... in fact, both of Gilbert's made threes, the only two DSU hit on the night, allowed Blazers' current streak of 133-straight games with a made 3-pointer to continue.   
* - Freshman guard Noa Gonsalves returned to his early season form as he filled the stat sheet with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal vs. UTRGV (1/22) ... Gonsalves also poured in eight points two nights earlier vs. Lamar (1/20) and blocked a career-high two shots, both of which came in the second half, including a highlight-reel smother block on a Cardinal fast break.
* - Gonsalves' consecutive eight-point outings were the most since he poured in a WAC season-high 11 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 scored seven points in 12 minutes vs. Lamar back on Jan. 20, and had five points and three rebounds in 16 reserve minutes at Sam Houston last Thursday.
* - Freshman post player Trey Edmonds played a season-high 13 minutes at SFA last Saturday and responded with two points, six rebounds and steal ... Edmonds' six caroms were the most since he grabbed a career-high eight, to go with a career-best eight points, off the bench vs. SAGU-IAC (12/15).   
* - Edmonds made the most of his eight minutes in the UTRGV win (1/22), against which he pulled down four rebounds and dunked home two second-half points ... however his highlight of the night was swatting away two Vaquero shots during DSU's 14-0 first-half run that helped put the game away.
* - Speaking of dunks, after throwing down just three total dunks in 21 games last season, the Trailblazers already have 14 dunks through the first 23 games this year - all of which have come over the last 19 games ... Leter is the current team leader in dunks with seven, including that breakaway throw down in the final minutes at Chicago State (1/29).
* - 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.
* - Sophomore guard Isaiah Pope and junior forward Jacob Nicolds accounted for half of DSU's 30 bench points at Utah Valley (1/8) ... Pope tallied 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 (1/12), and he responded by filling the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 28 minutes ... Pope has started every game since and is averaging 9.6 ppg over his last eight outings overall, including a season-high 17 points vs. UTRGV (1/22), and 12 points at Chicago State (1/29).
* - Through 23 games, DSU's bench has outscored its opponent reserves by a 578-500 margin (25.1 ppg-21.7 ppg), and in 13 of 22 games (with one tie) overall this season, though SFA's bench outscored DSU's reserves 31-8 last Saturday.     
* - The eight bench points at SFA tied DSU's season-low, which was set in the come-from-behind win at California Baptist (1/12), thanks to the five DSU starters combining to score a season-high 71 of the team's 79 points ... the previous starting line-up season high for points 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 154 games overall, though the Blazers have shot better than 50 percent four times through 23 games this season.
* - The Blazers slugged through their two worst shooting performances of the season last week in Texas ... DSU posted a then-season low 28.8 clip (17-of-59) in Thursday's loss at Sam Houston, and followed that up by shooting just 27.1 percent (16-of-59) at SFA on Saturday.
* - 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 157 games decided by nine points or less, including 14 of 44 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.
* - Dixie State won the "Battle of the Boards" in 14 of 23 games this season (10-4), this after the Blazers were outrebounded 12 times in 21 games in their D-1 debut last season ... overall, the Blazers have outrebounded an opponent in 89 of its last 130 games going back to the 2017-18 campaign.

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO STATE "AGGIES": NM State (19-3/9-1 WAC) enters Thursday's game as the hottest team in the WAC, having won four-straight and 14 of its last 15 games overall, including a 9-1 start in league action. Three of the Aggies' four wins during this current streak have come against the top-three teams in the conference standings, including home wins over Grand Canyon (71-61; 1/29) and Seattle U (79-64) last Saturday night.
    Chris Gans (114-28 at NMSU/135-40 career; Loras College, 1991) is in his fifth season at NM State, where he has led the Aggies to three WAC regular season crowns, two WAC tournament titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.  
    The Aggies are led by a pair of preseason all-WAC picks in junior guards Teddy Allen (6-6) and Jabari Rice (6-4). Allen is currently second in the conference in scoring (19.4 ppg), fifth in FG% (.459) and sixth in rebounding (7.0 rpg), while Rice is averaging 12.9 points and 3.4 assists (#9 WAC) per game.
    As a team, NM State averages 74.7 ppg on 46.1 percent shooting through 22 games while allowing 66.0 ppg. The Aggies also average 8.0 3FGM, along with 38.4 rpg, 14.0 assists, and 4.5 steals per game.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will close the weekend by welcoming defending WAC champion, and former PacWest rival, Grand Canyon back to the Burns Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.