Dawson Uses Strong Second Half to Beat Miles
Pictured: Roniel Oguekwe
Jan 11, 2024
In a game that was very similar to the one they played back on November 26th, the Dawson Buccaneers turned it on in the second half to run away from the visiting Miles Community College Pioneers once again. In the first meeting, Dawson held a slim five point advantage at the break and won 89-68. On Thursday night in Glendive, Dawson found themselves down at halftime 32-30, but outscored the visitors by 23 in the second half to win 86-65. It was Dawson's 20th straight win at home and 14th straight win over the Pioneers.
"Our defensive intensity and energy skyrocketed in the second half," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We got a lot of deflections and forced a lot of turnovers which led to offense. I thought Miles wore down as the second half progressed. In the first half, we didn't take care of the ball and we started forcing shots when they weren't falling early. We can be really good at times, but we have to play with energy and effort for forty minutes."
Dawson had a slim advantage early until Miles took the lead 9-8 on a 3-pointer by Ryder Lee. From that point the visitors went on a 10-2 run over the next five minutes. Levi O'Brien stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer for Dawson. In the final five minutes, Dawson climbed back into the game and tied it up at 28 on a lay-up by Alexsis Nika. The half ended with a 32-30 score in favor of Miles. There were three ties and three lead changes in the opening half. Dawson turned it over ten times and the Pioneers had nine. Dawson shot 34% from the field and Miles shot 38% in the low scoring affair. Nobody reached double figures for either team.
Roniel Oguekwe led the charge for the Bucs at the beginning of the second half with effort plays and by getting to the free throw line. He made five free throws and a basket to go on a personal 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds and give Dawson the lead 37-32. The Bucs took the lead for good at the 15:42 mark on a lay-up from Kur Maler who was assisted by Justin Asi. On the next possession Asi found Seth Amunrud for a 3-pointer. Maler scored again for a 48-42 lead. With eight minutes remaining it was still a four point game before Dawson went on a 16-3 run over the next four minutes, led by Maler, Demetric Kindle and Ty Buckmon. Dawson outscored the visiting Pioneers 31-14 over the final eight minutes of the game to secure the 21 point victory. The Bucs shot 54% from the field and 39% from 3-point range in the second half while making 13 free throws to help them score 56 points. They also forced 15 turnovers and held MCC to 34% shooting. For the game Dawson outscored Miles in the paint 40-26 and 29-9 off turnovers. Miles turned it over 24 times.
Four Buccaneers reached double figures, led by Seth Amunrud's game high 18 points. Ty Buckmon finished with 16 points and 5 steals. Oguekwe had a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 blocks. Maler also finished with 13 points on 6-7 shooting. Daniel Piechmeat led Miles with 17 points.
Dawson improves to 15-2 on the year and 8-0 in conference games. Miles drops to 9-8 overall and 5-3 in conference. The Bucs will be on the road this weekend to play North Dakota State College of Science on Sunday and United Tribes on Monday.