DCC Men defeat Colorado Northwestern 95-80
The Dawson men put together a solid forty minutes of basketball and defeated the Colorado Northwestern Spartans 95-80 on Saturday night. They had 10 players get in the scoring column and rebounding column in a balanced effort to cruise to a 15 point victory in the Pronghorn Classic in Gillette, Wyoming. Dawson scored 33 points off turnovers and their bench scored 42 points on the night. The Bucs shot a blistering 21-23 from the free throw line (91%) to help them take control of the game in the second half.
In the early going it was a back and forth affair with three ties and three lead changes in the opening twenty minutes. CJ Nelson helped the Bucs get off to a good start with 11 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 2-3 from long range in the first half. He also collected 5 rebounds in the half. The Bucs defense forced 15 turnovers and scored 16 points off those turnovers, but 56% shooting by the Spartans kept them in the game.
In the second half, the Bucs began dominating the glass and the shooting fortunes flip-flopped with Dawson now getting hot and shooting 55% from the field and 50% from three-point line. But it was the free throw shooting advantage that really helped Dawson earn the victory. Marcus Stephens was the biggest beneficiary connecting on 12-13 on the night.
Stephens led Dawson in scoring with 21 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. CJ Nelson contributed 15 points and 5 rebounds. Cam'ron Dunfee also scored in double figures with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Colorado Northwestern was led by David Riley’s 17 points and 7 rebounds.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson was pleased, “I loved the energy our guys brought to the game. The bench was active all night long and all thirteen guys contributed in one way or another to the victory. I think we are starting to understand our roles better and figure out how each player can help us. Jaron Masis gave some great inside play in the second half and Cam’ron was very solid tonight. This team is getting better every day.”
The Bucs will face off in Billings with the Rocky Mountain JV on the day before Thanksgiving for an early 2:00 pm tip-off.
