Bismarck Hands Dawson Their First Loss of 2023

The Bismarck State Mystics snapped the Dawson Buccaneers nine game winning streak and handed
them their first loss of 2023 on Thursday night in Bismarck. Dawson's last loss was back on December
4th. BSC outshot DCC 52% to 40% from the field in the 77-66 win.

"This a great wake up call for us," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We have been flirting with
danger for a couple of games now, but our shooting has saved us. We have to be better at doing the
little things on both ends so that when we have off shooting nights, we can still be successful. In the first
half tonight we didn't play Dawson basketball. We came out in the second half and played much better,
but we couldn't dig ourselves out of the hole. Bismarck competed hard, executed well and played
smart. Those things usually lead to wins."

Bismarck raced out to an early lead and took a 38-29 advantage into halftime behind 13 points from
leading scorer Jayden Bernard and by holding Dawson to 34% shooting from the field. The second half
was pretty even. Dawson's defense forced 10 turnovers, but Bismarck's shooting went up to 60%. The
Mystics built up a 17 point lead halfway through the final frame, but the Bucs came storming back and
cut the deficit to five points. It wasn't meant to be on this night though as Bismarck made the plays they
needed to down the stretch to get the double digit win.

Peterson continued, "It is always frustrating to lose, but I hope we learn from this and it will make us
better going forward. We have the ability to beat anyone on any night, but we also could get beat by
anyone. The conference season is a grind and the toughest team usually rises to the top."
Almost all of the statistical categories were pretty even except for the shooting percentages. That was
the difference that gave Bismarck the win.

Three Bismarck players were in double figures, led by Jaden Hamilton's 17 points. The Bucs also had
three guys in double figures. Damon Gros Ventre had a game high 19 points. Joe Mpoyo scored 15
points and grabbed 7 rebounds. David Ajanaku had 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Bismarck improved to 8-12 overall and 6-8 in the Mon-Dak. Dawson drops to 18-5 overall and 12-2 in
the Mon-Dak. Dawson is now tied for first place with North Dakota State College of Science. The Bucs
head back out on the road for matchups with United Tribes on Sunday and North Dakota State College
of Science on Monday.