Dawson’s Season Ends in Region XIII Championship Game

Dawson's bid for a four-peat came to a halt on Sunday afternoon in Wahpeton, ND as the North Dakota
State College of Science Wildcats defeated the Bucs 95-73 in the Region XIII Championship Game. NDSCS
took control in the second half behind great shooting and tough defense to capture their first region
championship in five years. The Wildcats will host the district championship game on Saturday with the
winner getting an automatic bid to the national tournament.

"We played with good effort tonight and gave ourselves a chance, but they were too good," shared
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "They played a smart game, knocked down their shots and played the way
championship teams should play."

The Bucs jumped out of the gate early, taking a 12-3 lead in the opening moments, but the Wildcats
stormed back behind a 15-2 run. NDSCS forced Dawson into nine turnovers in the first half and
converted them into thirteen points. Even though Dawson shot better from the field and made all
eleven of their free throws, it wasn't enough to overcome their turnovers as NDSCS had a 42-39
advantage at the half. Micah Swallow and Devin Newsome led the Wildcats with 11 points each. Chris
Davidson and Joe Mpoyo led Dawson with 9 points each.

Out of the break, NDSCS scored on their first few possessions and never looked back. After shooting
53% from 3-point range in the first half, they improved to 57% in the second half, going 8-14. For the
game, they made 16-29 which included five triples from Swallow and Newsome and four more from
Agwa Nywesh. Swallow finished the game with 29 points and 7 rebounds. Newsome scored 25 points in
just twenty minutes. Nywesh rounded out the double digit scorers for the Wildcats with 15 points.

NDSCS forced Dawson into nine more turnovers in the second half. The Bucs shot well from the 3-point
line, going 8-20 for the game. They also shot a season best 25-27 from the charity stripe. All of that was
enough to compensate for the strong play from NDSCS.

Davidson finished with 19 points. Aidan Fishell scored 14 and Mpoyo scored 13 to go along with 7
rebounds.

Peterson continued, "I'm really proud of what this team accomplished. We lost a lot from last year's
team with only two contributors returning. With so many new faces, we came together quicker than I
expected. These guys have worked so hard and shown a ton of improvement individually and
collectively. They were a fun group to coach and a fun group to be around."

Dawson ends the season with a 24-8 record.