Dawson Opens Up League Play with a Win at Miles

In a tightly contested battle, Dawson Community College edged out Miles Community College on the road Thursday night to open up conference play with an 82-79 win. The score was tied nine times and the lead changed fifteen times in the game. Despite Miles Community College shooting significantly better from three-point range (28.6% on 8-28 compared to Dawson's 14.3% on 3-21), Dawson secured the victory through interior dominance and rebounding.

Dawson took the lead for the final time with 3:46 remaining in the game on a steal and an assist from Kai Guess to fellow backcourt mate Brandon Hymes. The lead stayed between 2-4 points for the rest of the game until Donnie Haney got a steal and drove to the basket, drawing a foul with three seconds remaining and Miles only down by two points. He missed the first one and then tried to intentionally miss the second one, but it banked in off the glass. Delray Lilley was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and he calmly made both free throws to give Dawson an 82-79 advantage. Miles threw it down the court and Azenio Cossa was able to get a three-pointer off before the buzzer, but it hit off the front of the rim. 

"It wasn't our best game tonight, but I thought our guys hung in there and gutted it out," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We turned it over, didn't shoot well from outside and still found a way to win. There's always going to be games like that in a conference season and you hope that you can come out on top." 

The Pioneers opened the game with the first five points, which ended up being their largest lead of the game. The Bucs only made 1-11 three-pointers in the first half, but managed to make 14-24 from inside the three-point line and 11-14 from the charity stripe. Delray Lilley was the sparkplug scoring 12 points. Dawson also outrebounded Miles 25-19 and scored 10 second chance points. Ade Onaleye scored inside and Sharif Yakubu got a lay-up in transition to give Dawson 42 points going into the break, but Jace Hill scored on a driving lay-up for Miles to close out the half with 37 points for the Pioneers. 

Miles turned the half-time deficit into a lead just four minutes into the second half. Dylan Swenson's three-pointer gave them a 52-48 lead to cap a 15-6 run to start the half. Mikey Ngoyi connected from long range and then scored two free throws to regain the lead for Dawson. The game kept going back and forth after that. There were seven ties and ten lead changes in the second half alone. Dawson's cold shooting from long range continued in the final twenty minutes (2-8), but they still managed to shoot 53% from the field despite that. 

The most significant statistical gap in the game was on the glass. Dawson Community College dominated the rebounding battle, pulling down 50 rebounds compared to just 34 for Miles. Dawson's ability to control the boards at a 59.5% Rebound Rate allowed them to overcome their poor outside shooting. Specifically, Dawson's 15 offensive rebounds provided critical second-chance opportunities that kept their offense moving. They outscored the Pioneers 16-6 on second chance points and their bench had a 42-12 advantage. Dawson's largest lead of the game was a six point advantage halfway through the first half.   

Dawson was far more aggressive and efficient attacking the basket. They recorded an At-The-Rim (ATR) shooting percentage of 66.7% (18-27). In contrast, Miles Community College only attempted 16 shots at the rim, converting 8 (50.0%). Dawson's physical presence in the paint forced Miles into fouling, leading to 24 free throw attempts for Dawson (17 made) versus only 18 attempts for Miles (11 made).

Miles had four guys in double figures, led by 19 points from Azenio Cossa. Dawson also had four double digit scorers and were led by Sharif Yakubu's 19 points and 8 rebounds. Yakubu made 8-10 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. Delray Lilley finished with 16 points. Kai Guess added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Mikey Ngoyi ended with 10 points. 

The win boosts Dawson's record to 11-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. Miles falls to 7-12 overall and 0-1 in conference. 

The Bucs will host Northwest College on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm.