Dawson Buccaneers Get Back on Track
After losing their first game in over a month, the Dawson Buccaneers came out firing on Monday night to get back on track. The Buccaneers exploded for 55 first half points, taking a 30 point lead over the visiting United Tribes Technical College Thunderbirds before half-time. Dawson cruised to a 100-71 victory, improving to 16-7 overall and 4-1 in conference play for the league leaders. It was their 31st straight home victory against conference foes.
"I liked the way we bounced back after a loss," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "I thought we came out and guarded really well and were very unselfish as a team. A few times we were a little too unselfish, but I would rather have it that way than the opposite. We have to play hard and play together every time out."
Aries Lewis got things going for Dawson with a couple of lay-ups early and then a high flying dunk a few possessions later. His two free throws gave Dawson a 15-6 lead four minutes in. Michael Murphy kept the momentum going with a three-pointer from the corner and then he got fouled on his next attempt, making all three free throws. That gave the Bucs a double digit lead, 21-10. They added to their lead with a 13-2 run that started on a lay-up from Delray Lilley and then three consecutive three-pointers from Lewis, Brandon Hymes and Kai Guess. Zakai Owens' lay-up stretched the lead past twenty points, 36-14. Owens ignited another big run with two lay-ups and two dunks with a Brandon Hymes dunk in between. That 10-0 run pushed the lead to thirty points, 46-16 with six minutes still remaining in the half. At that point, Dawson had firm control of the game and the outcome wasn't in question. In the half, the Buccaneers made 7-14 from the three-point line and held the visitors to 35% shooting while forcing them into 16 turnovers, scoring 25 points off those turnovers. Owens led Dawson with 13 first half points on 6-8 shooting. Hymes had 10 points on 4-6 shooting and Lewis scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting.
In the second half, the Thunderbirds found their aim from outside, making 7-15. They shot 56% from the field. Dawson shot 54% from the field. The Bucs increased the lead up to 42 points halfway through the second half after a three-pointer from Kuich Gatwech. Over the final ten minutes United Tribes outscored Dawson 33-20. Dawson won the second half 45-44. Gatwech scored 13 points in the final twenty minutes for the Bucs, going 5-7 from the field and 3-4 from the three-point line.
Dawson forced a total of 26 turnovers in the game and scored 37 points off those turnovers. They shot 50% from the field and 48% from the three-point line. Dawson shared the ball, collecting 26 assists on 40 field goals. The Buccaneers advantage in turnovers and on the boards, led to 17 more shots than the visitors.
Brandon Hymes finished with a game high 23 points on 9-12 shooting from the field and 4-5 from the three-point line. He also had 7 steals. Zakai Owens scored 15 points, had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Kuich Gatwech had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Aries Lewis added 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Kai Guess and Michael Murphy rounded out the double digit scorers with 13 points and 11 points respectively. Gerald Kingbird led the Thunderbirds with 19 points.
Dawson will be on the road Thursday night at Dakota College at Bottineau before they return home for their Hall of Fame Game against Miles Community College on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm.
