Dawson Can’t Complete Comeback at Williston
After a lop-sided victory at home on Sunday, the Dawson Community College Buccaneers started sluggish on the road Monday at Williston State College. The Tetons got up by as many as twenty points in the second half. Dawson clawed their way back into the game and cut the gap to two points, but Williston made their free throws down the stretch and secured a 74-70 win.
Dawson’s offense sputtered in the early going, but so did Williston as the teams battled back and forth with 6 ties. Williston got hot as the half wore on and took a 44-31 advantage into the break. Dawson only shot 34% from the field compared to WSC’s 58%. Clovis Gallon and Galdo Tutu led the way with 14 points and 10 points, respectively. The Tetons also outrebounded Dawson 25-14 in the opening half.
Williston increased that lead to twenty points just four minutes into the second half. Dawson’s defense tightened up, they took control of the boards, and they started to get hot from long range, led by Joe Mpoyo. The visitors steadily climbed back into the game, eventually pulling within two points at 72-70. That was the closest they could get as Galdo Tutu made 4-5 from the charity stripe to close out the game.
Bucs Coach Joe Peterson shared his thoughts, “I was really disappointed by our effort in the first half. They were more hungry and really got after it. If we could have played with the same intensity in the first half as we did in the second half, it would have been a totally different game.”
Dawson shot 35% from the 3-point line for the game, but only 34% from the field. They outrebounded the Tetons by 13 in the second half and by 2 for the game. Williston shot 49% from the field and 47% from 3-point range in the game.
Dawson was led by Joe Mpoyo who scored 15 points, shooting 50% from the 3PT line (5-10). Reggie Martin contributed 10 points and 5 rebounds and Kennedy Brown had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The Tetons were led by Clovis Gallon who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while dishing out 7 assists. Galdo Tutu scored 16 points and Ezekiel Spann finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Dawson 16-4 (8-3) will host Dakota College of Bottineau for another Mon-Dak Conference game on Thursday night, January 20th.
