Dawson handles Dakota College Behind Finn’s 28 points
6’0 sophomore guard Brent Finn started out on fire and never really cooled down all night long to lead Dawson to an easy victory over Dakota College. The first one came with the score 8-5 four minutes into it on an assist from Travon Hamilton. After a Simon Falokun basket, Finn hit another 3-pointer to put the Bucs up 16-8 on a pass from Michele Capasso. Two possessions later he nailed another one from Capasso again. Less than a minute later, he put the Bucs up 22-10 with another one before taking a rest. He hit two more before the end of the half. His shooting got the Bucs rolling and they managed to build a 24 point half-time lead. It was a dominating performance in the first half as the home team limited Dakota College to 32% shooting while outrebounding them 30-19 and they took good care of the ball, only turning it over 3 times in the opening 20 minutes. Finn finished the half with 20 points. Nobody was in double digits for the Lumberjacks.
The visitors from Bottineau played better in the second half though they never managed to get closer than 20 points the rest of the way. All twelve Buccaneers contributed to the victory. Eleven different players scored and ten collected at least one rebound. Finn led the way with 28 points. Falokun also contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds while Tyrel Harper added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Dawson outscored Dakota College 36-12 from the 3 point line, 22-12 on second chance points and 22-18 off the bench. It was another dominating performance on the boards as they outrebounded the visitors 53-36, including 21 offensive rebounds.
DCC Head Coach Joe Peterson said, “I loved the way we defended, rebounded and handled the ball in the first half. That was our emphasis before the game… play great defense, dominate the boards and take care of the ball. When we do that, we are awfully good. And Finn’s shooting really got us going. The guys were looking for him tonight and he was feeling pretty confident.”
The win gives Dawson a solid lock on 2nd place in the league with one game remaining. They move to 22-7 on the year and 8-3 in the conference. North Dakota State College of Science clinched the regular season title with their win at Williston on Thursday. So NDSCS will host the Region XIII tournament in Wahpeton, ND on March 3-4.
Dawson will close out the regular season with a home game vs. Bismarck State College next Thursday, February 22nd. It will be Sophomore Night. Dawson beat Bismarck 110-106 back on January 29th.
