DSU opens conference play with OT win over Concordia

Written by Darren Cole
December 4, 2016
Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Dixie State opened conference play with one of its toughest tests of the season – and the Trailblazers passed with flying colors.

blazerDDSU faced last year’s PacWest Conference season champion, Concordia, in their first contest of conference play and came out on top 82-76 in overtime in Burns Arena Saturday night.

The Trailblazers won despite committing 31 turnovers. The Eagles outscored Dixie State 29-8 on points off turnovers. The Blazers made up the difference by outrebounding Concordia 56-25 and outshooting the visiting team from the field and the line.

“We committed way too many turnovers,” said Dixie State head coach Jon Judkins. “I thought we never should have been in overtime. I was happy to see that the guys responded, played tough, instead of getting their heads down.”

Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Blazers jumped out to an early 8-4 lead on a layup by Kyler Nielson three minutes into the game. Nielson’s free throw six minutes later put the Blazers up 17-8. DSU would maintain a 5-9 point lead over the next six minutes. Josh Fuller’s layup in the paint put Dixie State up 28-18 with 5:21 left in the half.

The lead hit double digits two minutes later when Austin Montgomery hit a reverse layup to put the Blazers up 31-20. Brandon Simister’s jumper as time expired kept the DSU lead at 11, 37-26 at the half.

The Blazers, who normally come out of halftime strong, watched their halftime lead dissipate in less than three minutes. A Concordia 3-pointer at the 17:12 mark gave the Eagles a 43-41 lead.

“We normally like to win that first four minutes coming out of halftime,” said Nielson. “But unfortunately, it was just the opposite. At the first media timeout, Coach showed us we were tied and to just start over. 0-0, keep playing hard.”

Over the next 14 minutes, the two teams would see-saw back and forth trading the lead. Neither team would lead by more than three points during that time.

Dixie State's Josh Fuller (40), Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie State’s Josh Fuller (40), Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

With 4:21 remaining in regulation, Trevor Hill drove the lane and hit the layup and drew the foul. His free throw gave DSU a four-point lead. Hill added another free throw 20 seconds later and the score was 62-57 in favor of the Blazers. With two minutes left to go the Blazers lost Fuller on fouls.

“That foul was crucial,” said Judkins. “It limited what we could do inside. From that point on, we put the ball in Trevor (Hill)’s hands and used a high pick-and-roll, then let Trevor create.”

Dixie State kept the lead through the rest of the game until the final seconds. With six seconds left, Simister went to the line to try and expand the lead back to three. However, he only hit one of two. Concordia’s Tad Dufelmeier drove the length of the court and tied the game with a coast-to-coast layup to put the game in overtime.

“Brandon (Simister) hit 93 percent of his free throws last year,” said Judkins. “He needs to get back into the gym and practice those to get to where he was last year.”

Nielson scored the first basket of overtime, but Concordia got the next four points for their first lead of the extra session, 72-70. DSU’s last 12 points came from the charity stripe as the Blazers connected on 14 attempts. Concordia never came closer than three the rest of the way.

Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie State University vs. Concordia University Irvine, Men’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Isaiah Clark had entered the game and played great interior defense in the final possessions. “Isaiah is athletic,” said Judkins. “He was able to alter some shots at the end without fouling.“

Dub Price tracked down some important defensive rebounds late in the game despite his comparative smaller size. “He did the same thing in high school,” said a smiling Hill, who was Price’s high school teammate at Alta. “He chases down everything, rebounds, loose balls, you name it.”

Hill led four Blazers in double figures. He finished with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds. He also led the team with six assists and two steals. Also finishing in double figures were Fuller (14), Simister (14) and Nielson (13). Zac Hunter also had two steals.

Dixie State improves to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the PacWest. Concordia falls to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Blazers will play their next two games on the road against the other two teams that tied the conference season records last year with Dixie State and Concordia. The Blazers will play Cal Baptist on Thursday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. On Saturday, they will travel to Azusa to take on Azusa Pacific at 3 p.m. Pacific Time.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Concordia 89, Dixie State 78

The Dixie State women’s team fell to visiting Concordia despite outshooting them from the floor and the line. The Blazers also outrebounded Concordia, but committed seven more turnovers.

Shelby Kassuba recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Four other Blazers scored in double figures. Matti Ventling led the team with 18 points. The others were Tramina Jordan (16), Ashlee Burge (12) and Lisa VanCampen (10). Jordan led the team with seven assists.

Concordia improves to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the PacWest. The Blazers fall to 0-7 (0-1). The Blazers will now travel to Cal Baptist on Thursday to take on the Lancers. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Cole recently returned to sportswriting after a 20-plus year hiatus. While pursuing other studies, he developed an early passion for sports writing as a senior writer and sports editor for the Ricks College Scroll in 1988-89. Darren has spent the last 20 years writing legal memorandi and appellate briefs. In addition to his legal career, he has also taught legal and criminal justice courses at the university level for nine years as an adjunct professor. Darren is married to wife Lisa, has two sons and is a confessed sports junkie.

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