Dawson Bucs Win on the Road with a Buzzer Beater

After losing two games in the past two weeks on last second shots, the Bucs finally got their chance to win on a buzzer beater. Matt Kinzeler's three-pointer from the wing with 0.3 seconds remaining completed the Bucs comeback win on Friday night against the Northwest College Trappers in Powell, Wyoming. Dawson was down by fifteen points with 8:12 remaining in the game, but rallied to win on the road 86-83. 

"If I'm being honest, I'm really not sure how we won that game," explained Bucs Coach Joe Peterson. "We were outrebounded, they forced more turnovers and they shot 44 free throws, but somehow we came out on top. I'm not sure we deserved to. I loved the toughness we showed over the final eight minutes. There was a lot going against us, but we kept fighting, dug down and got some stops finally and then executed really well in the final few minutes. Kale Fasting gave us a huge spark in the second half and it was contagious. I feel like we've lost a couple of games that we shouldn't have this year so it was good to win one that we probably shouldn't have." 

Dawson started the game hot, scoring on their first five possessions. Brandon Hymes got it started with one from long range and then Aries Lewis scored inside. Kai Guess got a driving lay-up before Lewis made a couple free throws. After a Delray Lilley three-pointer, Guess scored again to give the Bucs a 14-4 advantage just 3:20 into the game. Northwest came roaring back on a 14-2 run to take the lead. The Trappers went on to build their own double digit lead with a minute left in the half. Northwest led 48-39 at the half. They shot almost 60% from the field and forced 12 Dawson turnovers, leading to 19 points. Trey Rinn led the home team with 16 points. Guess led Dawson with 13 points. 

Dawson started the second half strong and pulled within one point 52-51 on a mid-range jumper from Matt Kinzeler. Things went downhill from there with Northwest outscoring Dawson 19-5 over the next eight minutes. It looked pretty hopeless at that point for the Bucs until they started slowly chipping away. With 3:30 remaining, they were still down by eight points when a technical foul was called on the Dawson bench. They made both free throws to extend the lead to double digits again. The Bucs stole the ball on the ensuing possession and Brandon Hymes scored on a drive in transition and got fouled, making the free throw. Aries Lewis made a big three-pointer from the top of the key with 2:32 left to make the score 80-75. Then Ade Onaleye stole the ball and scored another lay-up on the other end to make it a one possession game. Dawson outscored Northwest by seven points during that 90 second span. Aries Lewis then blocked a shot on one end and scored in the paint on the other to pull Dawson within a point with 1:34 left. After another Lewis block, Kinzeler drew a foul and made two free throws to finally give Dawson the lead 81-80. Mateo Trujillo answered back with a jump-shot to regain the lead for the Trappers. Brandon Hymes got back to the free throw line and made two more to grab the lead again. With ten seconds to go, Northwest made one out of two from the charity stripe to tie the game at 83 and set up the game winner by Kinzeler. 

Dawson held Northwest to 33% shooting in the second half and one field goal in the final seven minutes. For the game Dawson shot 54.5% from the field, 38.5% from the three-point line and 84.2% from the free throw line.  

Kai Guess and Brandon Hymes led Dawson with 18 points each. Hymes also added 6 rebounds. Aries Lewis finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. 

Dawson is now 8-4 on the season and will play again in Powell on Saturday at 12:00 pm vs. Central Wyoming College.