Dawson Men Explode into Championship

In a game that looked very similar to their first-round game, the DCC Bucs handled Dakota College Bottineau in the Mon-Dak Conference Tip-off Tournament semifinals on Saturday night in New Town, North Dakota 105-72. Just like in their opening game, Dawson's defense tightened up halfway through the first half and held the Jacks to just 2 points in a 10-minute stretch that helped them build a 22-point lead. Once again it was Ty Buckmon leading the way with 17 first half points. The Bucs forced 12 turnovers and converted them into 18 points in the opening half. On the other side, Dawson didn't turn it over one time.

The Bucs kept up the pressure in the second half and continued to build on their lead by shooting it at a higher clip and getting second chances. In the final twenty minutes, Dawson collected 12 offensive rebounds and scored 14 points on second chances. DCC sizzled the nets for 56 points as they built up a 35-point lead with eight minutes remaining to coast into Sunday's championship game.

Dawson shot 51% from the field, outscored DCB on points off turnovers 30-0, in the paint 66-30, and off the bench 52-37. The Bucs only turned the ball over twice in the entire game.

"It was another great effort tonight," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We brought great energy despite the late tip-off (just before 10:00 pm) and really did what we needed to do. I loved the pressure we brought defensively and the pace we played at offensively while still making good decisions and taking care of the ball. There is still a lot of room for growth, but we are showing glimpses of what we are capable of."

Buckmon finished with a game high of 24 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Three other Bucs reached double figures including 13 points each from Justin Asi and Kur Maler and 12 points from Jordan Jasper. All fourteen Buccaneers played, and thirteen guys got into the scoring column. Max Groom led the Jacks with 19 points.

Dawson returns to the Mon-Dak Conference Tip-off Championship Game for the fourth straight time and will be attempting to the win the tournament for the third time in five years. In a rematch of last year's Region Championship Game, they will square off with North Dakota State College of Science at 5:00 pm CST on Sunday night. The game will be live-streamed at: https://youtube.com/live/lsUFoQldYks?feature=share