Dawson Bucs Suffer 1st Loss of the Season
In a battle of the top two teams in the Mon-Dak Conference, North Dakota State College of Science took control of the game with 14 minutes to go in the first half and never looked back.
Dawson led 14-12 after a steal by Payton Sanders and a layup by Damon Gros Ventre, but then the Wildcats went on a 17-2 run to jump out in front. Micah Swallow's 3-pointer at the buzzer capped a 16 point half for him and gave NDSCS a 49-31 lead.
The Wildcats increased their lead to 27 points in the second half, but Dawson made a 15-3 run that was sparked by 3 3-pointers from Sanders. The visitors never got closer than 15 points though and NDSCS had an easy victory in their first home game of the season.
They forced Dawson into 20 turnovers and dominated the glass 38-26, including a 19-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Both teams shot it well from the 3-point line (48%), but NDSCS earned 18 more shots because of the turnover and rebounding advantages.
It was Dawson's first loss of the season.
We didn't play with the effort and intensity necessary to compete with a good team tonight," commented Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "I'm not sure why that is, but you can't beat good teams without taking care of the ball and rebounding. It was a good wake-up call for us and exposed some of our weaknesses. The schedule will only get tougher from here."
Micah Swallow finished with a game high 29 points and 8 rebounds for North Dakota Science. Peyton Newbern added 18 points.
Joe Mpoyo led Dawson with 20 points, including 5 3-pointers. Damon Gros Ventre added 15 points and Payton Sanders had 14 points.
Dawson is now 7-1 on the season overall and 6-1 in conference. This was the last of Dawson's conference games for the first round. The conference season will resume in January and February with two more rounds. Next week, the Bucs will play in the College of Southern Idaho Thanksgiving tournament.
