Dawson Gets Redemption against Casper
Jan 5, 2024
The Dawson Bucs moved to 13-2 on the season with a 92-85 win over Casper College on Friday night in Glendive. The Thunderbirds had beat Dawson three weeks ago, so there was extra motivation for the Buccaneers. Gillette is the only other team to hand the Bucs a loss this season.
"That was a very satisfying win tonight," explained Dawson coach Joe Peterson. "Both teams came back after being off for a few weeks during Christmas Break. That first game back is always challenging, but I thought our guys played defense about as well as we have all season and our offensive execution took a step forward. We were playing without our captain, Rony, tonight, so other guys like Demetric Kindle and Kur Maler really stepped up and gave us a big lift."
Kindle got this first start of the season and exploded for 13 points in the first half on 6-8 shooting. He also pulled down four rebounds. There were five ties and three lead changes in the opening twenty minutes and the largest lead either team had was a six point advantage by Casper in the first minute of the game. Dawson only connected on 3-16 from 3-point range in the first half and only 5-10 from the free throw line, but forced the visitors into nine turnovers and had a seven rebound advantage on the offensive glass. Those extra shots helped them gain a slim 40-38 advantage at the break.
In the second half, it was Seth Amunrud's 13 points and Ty Buckmon's 10 points which bolstered the Dawson attack. The backcourt mates were scoring in a variety of ways and led them in rebounding on the night with 8 and 9 respectively. After knocking off some of the holiday rust, both teams increased their shooting percentages from the field, 3-point line and free throw line in the second half. The Bucs continued to dominate on the offensive glass and forced 12 more turnovers in the final half. There were 6 more ties and 4 more lead changes in the second half, but Dawson spent more time on top and gradually built a twelve point lead with two minutes remaining. The Thunderbirds scored a few times in the closing minutes and converted a few free throws, but the outcome was never in doubt as Dawson collected their 13th victory.
With the turnover advantage (+7) and the offensive rebounding advantage (+7), Dawson earned fourteen more possessions in the game. Casper shot it a little better on the night, though it wasn't enough to make-up for the disadvantage in possessions. The Bucs held Casper's leading scorer, Darius Robinson, to seven points on 2-14 shooting. Their second leading scorer, Abdul Bashir, was held four points below his season average.
Demetric Kindle's 17 points led a balanced attack which had five guys in double figures for Dawson. Seth Amunrud scored 15 points to go with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ty Buckmon had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Kur Maler and Justin Asi rounded out the double digit scorers with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Bashir's 14 points led Casper.
The Bucs will host Gillette College Saturday at 6:00 pm in their final non-conference game. Gillette is the only other team to hand the Bucs a loss this season.