Bucs Roll Williston to Go 10-1 in Conference

On Dino Night with the Bucs, the Dawson men struggled in the first half, but finally got it going in the second half to handily beat the visiting Williston State Tetons 94-62. Friends of Makoshika sponsored the night which included dinosaur mascots, free hot dogs and popcorn and all kinds of activities. On the court, Dawson picked up their 7th straight win and improved their league leading record to 10-1.

"I was not happy at all with how we played in the first half," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We didn't bring energy, didn't play hard and didn't do anything we talked about before the game. We thought it would be easy, but Williston played hard and played well. They are well coached and have some good players. We need to bring the same energy and effort every night no matter who we are playing and where we are playing. That's what mature teams do."

The first half, Dawson didn't look very convincing. There were four ties and nine lead changes as the Tetons tried to keep it close. The Bucs finally took the lead for good at the 7:15 mark on a layup by Payton Sanders and closed out the half on an 18-10 run to take a 42-35 lead into the break. Joe Mpoyo led the charge with 12 points and Roniel Oguekwe scored 11 points. Dawson forced 14 turnovers in the half.

The league leaders broke it wide open at the start of the second half, outscoring the visitors 22-4 in the opening six minutes. Mpoyo started the run with a 3-pointer before lay-ups from Oguekwe, Walker Doman and Damon Gros Ventre. Then Mpoyo connected again from long range. Gros Ventre capped the run with two straight 3-pointers to help Dawson stretch the lead to 64-39. From there it was an easy win as DCC held the Tetons to 25% shooting from the field and 10% from the 3-point line in the second half while forcing 10 more turnovers. The Bucs also won the battle of the boards in the second half by 16 and outscored WSC 52-27.

Dawson's bench dominated their visitors 45-5. All eleven Buccaneers scored in the game and grabbed a rebound. Mpoyo led Dawson with 18 points. Oguekwe added 17 points and 7 rebounds. Gros Ventre contributed 14 points and 5 rebounds.

Abi Adedo led Williston with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Dawson will be on the road for their next five games, starting with a match-up at Dakota College Bottineau on Thursday night.