Buccaneers Fall to Western Nebraska
A hot shooting second half propelled Western Nebraska Community College to a 95-72 victory in the Gillette Border Wars Tournament on Friday afternoon. The first half was a pretty even affair with Joe Mpoyo leading the way for Dawson, scoring 14 points and Biko Johnson scoring 14 points for the WNCC Cougars. The Bucs outrebounded WNCC 24-17, but turned it over 10 times which led to 9 points. Both teams shot 47% from the field in the first half. Dawson had the hot hand from 3 though, making 7 out of 13 while the Cougars only connected on 4 out of 17. The score was 46-41 at the break in favor of the Cougars.
The second half was a different story. Dawson only connected on 3-11 from long range while WNCC made 8 of 14. Western Nebraska also had a big advantage from the free throw line, making 15-19 while Dawson only made 4-10.
“Our guys battled hard tonight,” commented Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. “Our turnovers in the first half really hurt us, and then when they started shooting it well in the second half, we just couldn’t match their firepower. I think we learned a lot though and grew as a team tonight. We come down here to play good competition that will make us better later in the season. This game will do just that!”
Mpoyo and Ty Buckmon led the Bucs with 19 points each. David Ajanaku pitched in 12 points and 8 rebounds. Maurice Walker led WNCC with 20 points on 6-7 shooting from 3.
Dawson will take on a tough Western Wyoming team tomorrow evening in the last game of the day at the Gillette Border Wars.
