Dawson Gets Big Road Win

Feb 18, 2024

The Dawson Buccaneers handed the Bismarck State Mystics a 101-82 loss on Sunday afternoon in North Dakota. The win bumps Dawson's record to 23-5 overall and 16-3 in conference play. Dawson found themselves down by six points a few minutes into the second half, but caught up to tie the game at 66. From there they outscored the hosts 35-16 the rest of the way.

"I thought our pressure and depth wore them down and they just didn't have much left in the tank at the end," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Kur Maler and Aleksis Nika came off the bench and really gave us a big lift in scoring and rebounding."

In the first half there were four ties and three lead changes. Both teams shot over 50% from the field while the rebounds and turnovers were even. Garrett Bader led the way for Bismarck with 15 points while Kur Maler led the Bucs with 11 points. Dawson held on to a 49-43 advantage going into the break.

The Mystics erased that lead very quickly into the second half and built their own six point lead, but it was short lived as the Dawson defense continued to force turnovers and Maler got hot from deep, connecting on 5-7 from 3-point range, scoring 20 points in the final twenty minutes. Both teams shot over 50% again in the second half, but Dawson shot better from the 3-point line and free throw line while forcing 7 more turnovers than Bismarck and grabbing 6 more offensive rebounds.

Kur Maler finished with a game high 31 points on 11-18 field goals and 8-13 on 3's. He also added 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and 1 block. Roniel Oguekwe contributed 17 points and 8 rebounds. Aleksis Nika added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Garrett Bader led Bismarck with 27 points.

Dawson will be back on the road Wednesday night to face Lake Region State College and then their final regular season game will be at Miles Community College on Sunday afternoon.