Dawson Loses another Road Game on a Last Second Shot
For the second time in a week, the Dawson Bucs lost in the closing seconds. Last week Casper College scored with two seconds remaining to beat Dawson. On Saturday night, the Gillette Pronghorns Sayed Sayed took a tough contested three-pointer with time running down. Rashad McCormick tipped in the miss with 0.2 seconds remaining to give Gillette the 82-80 win. The Buccaneers came from 21 points down with fifteen minutes remaining, but couldn't complete the comeback. Dawson falls to 7-4 on the season.
"It is almost impossible to win on the road if you don't defend and rebound," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Tough teams do that night in and night out. We sometimes think that just because of the name on our jersey we are going to get it done, instead of going out with the right intensity and focus that it requires at this level. Hopefully we can learn and make the necessary changes."
Gillette shot 62% from the field in the first half and 83% from the free throw line to build a ten point advantage at half-time, 50-40. Dawson gave up twelve free throws and only shot three free throws themselves. Rashad McCormick scored 15 points for Gillette and Kai Guess scored 16 points for Dawson.
The Pronghorns came out in the second half and outscored the visitors by eleven points in the first four minutes to increase their lead to twenty-one points. The Bucs gradually clawed their way back into the game by tightening up their defense and forcing turnovers. Dawson shot 57% in the second half and held Gillette to 41% shooting from field. Dawson outscored Gillette 40-32 in the final twenty minutes, coming all the way back to tie the game with four minutes left and setting up the dramatic conclusion.
McCormick finished the game with 25 points while Sayed had 20. Kai Guess led the way for Dawson with 28 points on 10-13 shooting from the field (4-6 from long range). Ade Onaleye contributed 11 points and 5 assists.
The Buccaneers will travel to Powell, Wyoming for games next Friday and Saturday.
