Dawson's Defense Stifles Lake Region

Behind Ty Buckmon's career night, Dawson held the visiting Lake Region Royals to 26% shooting and
forced 26 turnovers in route to a 97-35 blowout win. Buckmon scored 25 points on 10-12 shooting from
the field and 5-7 from 3-point range. He also added 5 steals and 3 assists. The Bucs played great defense
in both halves, holding the Royals to 20 points in the first half and 15 points in the second half.

"I don't remember coaching a game quite like that before," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Our
defense dominated the game and we just kept building on the lead. Every time we subbed a new group
in, we kept getting better. I loved our energy, effort and togetherness. If we play like that every night,
we will be hard to beat."

Lake Region scored the first six points of the game before Dawson went on a 16-2 run. During the run,
four different Bucs connected from long range. The Royals pulled within eight points at 20-12, but then
Dawson went on another big run. This time it was a 17-0 run that was punctuated by two more triples
from Buckmon. It was 12 straight possessions and almost eight minutes where the visitors didn't score.
Dawson built a 31 point lead before Noah Bonick made a lay-up at the half-time buzzer to make the
score 49-20 going into the locker room. Dawson's bench outscored them 30-0 in the first half, led by
Buckmon's 17 points. They had 12 assists and only 1 turnover while forcing Lake Region into 11
turnovers.

Dawson didn't let up in the second half. The defensive intensity once again held their visitors scoreless
for a long stretch. This time it was five minutes and the Bucs scored 12 straight points on four lay-ups
and four free throws. Lake Region's shooting dropped from 33% in the first half to 20% in the second
half and Dawson forced 15 more turnovers in the final twenty minutes. The Royals finished 0-8 on the
night from long range.

It was a team effort for the 2 nd place Bucs as they outrebounded the visitors by 18 and had a +20
advantage in turnovers (26-6). Dawson finished the night outscoring Lake Region 42-1 on points off
turnovers and 18-4 on second chance points. Their bench had a 58-3 advantage. Ten Bucs got in the
scoring column with seven players scoring at least six points. All twelve players grabbed at least one
rebound. Buckmon led the charge with 25 points. Payton Sanders and Aidan Fishell added 13 points
each. Nobody from Lake Region reached double digits.

Dawson improves to 21-7 overall and 15-4 in conference. They will host Bismarck State on Thursday
night. Dawson beat Bismarck 92-84 in November and lost in Bismarck 77-66 two weeks ago. Mid Rivers
Communications will be the game day sponsor and will be offering free entry to the game with Mid-
Rivers apparel on, free popcorn, pirate hats for the first 300 fans, a chance to win a TV and giveaways
throughout the game.