Bucs Drop a Nail-Biter in Wahpeton
In a match-up of the top two teams in the Mon-Dak Conference, the North Dakota State College of Science Wildcats narrowly survived 81-79. Dawson entered the game 15-2 overall and 8-0 in conference. NDSCS came into the game 17-1 overall and 7-1 in conference, with their only loss coming at the hands of Dawson in the Mon-Dak Tip Off Tournament Championship Game in November.
Sunday's game did not disappoint. Dawson led most of the way, but the Wildcats took a two point lead with 11 seconds remaining. On a baseline out of bounds, the Bucs got a great look from beyond the arc for Seth Amunrud that barely missed. Dawson collected the rebound and got two more shots to try and tie the game, but none of them went in. The reigning Mon-Dak Player of the Week, Amunrud, was a perfect 4-4 from long range before that final shot. With the win, NDSCS moves into a two way tie atop the league. The teams will meet again in Glendive on February 5th.
"What a great college basketball game tonight between two quality teams," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "I loved the way we competed, how hard we played and how well we shot the ball against a tough defensive team on the road. Our downfall was not taking care of the ball and giving up too many second chances. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat and congratulate your opponent for making the plays they needed to for the win."
Dawson had the advantage for most of the way. The hosts only led three times all game; 33-32, 74-72 and the last 12 seconds. The Bucs built up a 27-15 lead in the first half behind the hot 3-point shooting of Ty Buckmon (3-3), Seth Amunrud (2-2) and Levi O'Brien (2-4). Dawson went 9-12 in the first half from deep. Shortly thereafter, the Wildcats went on a 15-3 run to take a brief lead at 33-32. Dawson recovered quickly to outscore NDSCS 9-2 to close the half with a 41-35 advantage. Melvin Newbern led the way for the Wildcats with 13 first half points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. NDSCS used 11 offensive rebounds to score 8 second chance points.
Dawson stayed hot shooting the ball in the second half and the Wildcats started to heat up as well, connecting on seven from beyond the arc. For the game, Kaleb Larson finished 6-9 and Conal Parnell went 3-6. Once again, Dawson built a twelve-point lead at 58-46 before NDSCS mounted their comeback. Larson gave NDSCS the lead at 74-72 with one of his 3-pointers. Buckmon answered back with a 3-pointer for Dawson to regain the lead and then made another triple on the next possession to give Dawson a 78-74 cushion with just under two minutes left. Larson answered back one more time to pull within a single point. Dawson's Demetric Kindle made one of two free throws to give them a 79-77 advantage. Aaron Williams tied the game up on a drive. After a Dawson turnover, Benjamin Fort scored on a drive of his own with eleven seconds left. Dawson came up empty on their three attempts in the last seven seconds as the Wildcats escaped with the victory. The NDSCS defense forced 16 turnovers in the final twenty minutes and a total of 24 turnovers in the game. They scored 36 points off those Dawson miscues. The script was flipped on Dawson who usually gets more possessions than their opponents because of forced turnovers and offensive rebounds. On Sunday, NDSCS took twenty more shots than their visitors (68-48). Even with that advantage, the game still came down to the very last possession.
Peterson continued, "On the road against a good team, you're always happy when it comes down to the last possession. We had our shot. They have a lot of pride, and we couldn't quite put them away even though we had our chances. Our guys showed a lot of character and really stuck together. It was a lot of fun and it will make this next month and a half in conference much more exciting. A game like this will make us better. We can't afford any more letdowns."
Dawson shot 54% from the field and 67% from the 3-point line in the game. NDSCS shot 47% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line, but held the advantage in possessions thanks to winning the turnover battle and the rebounding battle.
Ty Buckmon finished with a game high of 23 points and 6 assists while shooting 6-8 from 3-point range for Dawson. Seth Amunrud was the only other Buccaneer in double figures with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Kaleb Larson led NDSCS with 20 points. Peyton Newbern finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals.
Dawson will play at United Tribes Technical College on Monday night at 7:30 pm CST.