DURANGO/ALAMOSA, Colo.-Friday and Saturday, No. 19 Dixie State men’s basketball (16-3, 11-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play) visits Fort Lewis (13-6, 7-6 in RMAC play) and Adams State (6-13, 4-9 in RMAC play) respectively.
The Trailblazers are coached by 15-year head coach Jon Judkins (278-129, .683 at Dixie State; 562-257, .686) who is only 21 wins away from surpassing legendary University of Utah women’s basketball coach Elaine Elliott (582-234, .713, 1983-2008) for the most coaching wins in Beehive State college basketball history.
The Trailblazers score 81.1 points per game, ranking Dixie State 75th nationally in scoring offense.
Junior forward/center Hunter Schofield leads the Trailblazers in scoring (16.8 points per game), rebounding (6.7 boards per contest) and blocked shots (12).
Senior guard Jack Pagenkopf (13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds per game, team-bests in assists [114] and steals [41]) and junior guard Dason Youngblood (11 points, 4.4 rebounds per game) also score in double figures on-average for Dixie State.
The Trailblazers surrender 71.3 points per game, ranking Dixie State 88th nationally in scoring defense.
Fort Lewis is coached by fifth-year head coach Bob Pietrack (103-40, .720), having led the Skyhawks to three winning seasons while they appear headed for another one in his tenure in 2019-20.
Fort Lewis scores 85.3 points per game as the Skyhawks rank 30th nationally in scoring offense.
Redshirt junior forward Riley Farris leads Fort Lewis in scoring (24.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.2 boards per game).
Other Skyhawks to score in double figures on-average include freshman guard Akuel Kot (13.4 points per game) and junior forward Will Wittman (10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds per game, a team-best 20 blocked shots).
Junior guard Logan Hokanson, a product of St. George’s Desert Hills High School, has a team-best 69 assists and 14 steals for the Skyhawks.
Fort Lewis surrenders 80.6 points per game as the Skyhawks rank 247th nationally in scoring defense.
Fort Lewis leads the Trailblazers 5-2 all-time.
Adams State is coached by Russ Caton, who is 60-74 (.448) in his fifth season at the helm of the Grizzlies’ program.
Adams State scores 78.8 points per game, as the Grizzlies rank 107th nationally in scoring offense.
Senior guard Juwan Green (14.9 points per game, a team-best 70 assists, tied for a team-best 26 steals with senior guard/forward Rickey Norris) and junior guard/forward Kaelin Crane (14.9 points per game), Norris (12.4 points per game, team-bests in rebounding [5.9 boards per game] and blocked shots [13]), freshman guard Rylan O’brien (12.3 points per game) and senior, Polish national Szymon Walczak (10.1 points per game) also score in double figures on-average for the Grizzlies.
Adams State surrenders 84.6 points per game as the Grizzlies rank 285th nationally in scoring defense.
The Trailblazers lead 4-0 all-time over Adams State.
