ST. GEORGE, Utah-This weekend. No. 15 (NABC Coaches Poll)/No. 16 (D2SIDA poll) Dixie State (6-0, 1-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play) continues the RMAC season by hosting South Dakota Mines (3-4, 0-1 in RMAC) and Black Hills State (3-3, 1-0 in RMAC play) Friday and Saturday, respectively, at Burns Arena.
Trailblazers head coach Jon Judkins is presently 268-126 (.680) in his 15th season leading the Dixie State program.
As a collegiate head coach in the Beehive State, he is 552-254 (.684) all-time including his tenure at Snow College and is only 31 wins away from surpassing former Utah women’s coach Elaine Elliott for the most wins in Utah college basketball coaching history.
Presently, his Trailblazers squad has many solid student-athletes contributing at high levels to the team’s success.
Dixie State presently scores 84.2 points per game, ranking the Trailblazers 62nd nationally in scoring offense.
Junior forward/center Hunter Schofield (16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds per game) is the Trailblazers’ leading scorer. Schofield also has a team-best 5 blocked shots on the season.
Freshman forward Frank Staine (14.7 points per game) is a rising star while junior guard Dason Youngblood (10.5 points per game) and sophomore forward Josh Newbold (10.3 points per game) also score in double figures on average for the Trailblazers.
Senior guard Jack Pagenkopf (9.5 points, a team best 9 rebounds per game, and team bests in assists [47] and steals [8] is arguably the Trailblazers’ most indispensable player.
Defensively, Dixie State surrenders 74 points per game, tying them for 142nd nationally in scoring defense with Hawaii-Hilo, Bridgeport, Emporia State, Virginia Union and Texas A&M-International.
South Dakota School of Mines is coached by Eric Glenn who is 15-22 (.405) in his second season at the helm of the Hardrockers’ program.
South Dakota School of Mines scores 75.6 points per game, ranking the Hardrockers 184th nationally in scoring offense.
Senior guard Allec Williams (12 points, 4 rebounds per game, tied for a team-best 19 assists with sophomore guard Damani Hayes and a team-best 9 steals) and redshirt sophomore forward Mitchell Sueker (11 points per game, a team-best 5 blocked shots) are the only Hardrockers to score in double figures on average.
Senior forward, New Zealand native Logan Elers, averages a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game for South Dakota School of Mines. The Hardrockers surrender 65.4 points per game, ranking them 30th nationally in scoring defense.
The Trailblazers lead South Dakota School of Mines, 1-0 all-time.
Black Hills State is coached by Ryan Thompson who is 21-14 (.600) in his second season leading the Yellow Jackets’ program.
The Yellow Jackets net 79.7 points per game which ties them for 110th nationally in scoring offense with Quincy, Fairmont State and Regis.
Freshman forward Joel Scott (16.8 points, 4 rebounds per game), junior guard Trey Whitley (16.8 points per game, a team-best 2 blocked shots), redshirt senior guard Tyler Oliver (15.8 points, a team-best 9 rebounds and team bests in assists [36] and steals [8]), and Serbian national, senior forward Stefan Desnica (14 points per game) all score in double figures on average for the Yellow Jackets.
Black Hills State gives up 73.2 points per game on the season, ranking them 133rd nationally in scoring defense.
The Yellow Jackets lead the Trailblazers 1-0 all-time.
