Dawson Men Finish Month of January Undefeated
The Dawson Community College Men’s Basketball team won their 8th straight game since the start of the New Year behind a monster game from 6’3 sophomore guard Camron Dunfee who scored 37 points on the night. Dunfee shot 14-21 from the field and 9-14 from the 3-point line to lead the Bucs to a 110-97 victory over the United Tribes Technical College Thunderbirds in Bismarck, ND on Thursday night. For the month of January, the Bucs finished 8-0 with five of those victories coming on the road. The win was the 18th of the year for Dawson and brings their conference record to 7-0 at the halfway point. United Tribes is 4-3 in the league and sitting in 4th place.
The Thunderbirds hit three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the game and never really slowed down offensively all night. Dawson kept pace early and built an 18-11 lead. That was the largest lead either team had in a first half that had 8 ties and 8 lead changes. The home team was up 45-44 at the break. The Thunderbirds shot it well in the first half, but shot it even better in the second half. Dunfee’s scoring punch kept Dawson around and then helped them go on a run midway through the second half to take control of the game.
UTTC had a hot shooting night connecting on 52% from the field, 57% from the 3 point line and 86% from the free throw line. Dawson was pretty average in the first half offensively, but busted out in the 2nd half for 65 points by shooting 54% from the field and 61% from the 3 point line. Dunfee was a big part of that with 23 points in the final twenty minutes. The visitors also forced 21 turnovers and owned the glass which led to a 14-0 advantage in second chance points.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson talked about his team, “We faced some adversity with one of our keys guys out of the lineup and a couple of others battling injuries and illnesses. We also faced a really tough team that was on a roll. Our guys always keep competing for a full forty minutes and always keep believing in each other. Cam was huge for us tonight. I’m not sure we win that game without him getting hot.”
Four other Bucs were in double figures besides Dunfee. Beau Santistevan finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Man Man Baker had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Devin Collins had 14 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 5-6 from the field. CJ Nelson had 12 points.
Tate Bear led UTTC with 28 points.
After three straight road games, Dawson returns home for the next two games. They play Bismarck State on Sunday at 3:00 pm. Sunday will be the annual barefoot coaching games where the Dawson coaches will go barefooted to create awareness for the millions of people worldwide who don’t have proper footwear. Fans are encouraged to bring a pair of new shoes or money to donate to the cause. Everyone who gives a contribution will get a free popcorn and a ticket to a future game. On Wednesday, Dawson will host 2nd place North Dakota State College of Science who currently is one game behind Dawson with a 6-1 record at the halfway point.
