Strong Second Half Propels Dawson Past Miles
The Dawson Buccaneers exploded for 60 second half points to blow open a close game against in-state rivals, Miles Community College. Dawson won 104-89 in front of the latest Dawson Athletics Hall of Fame Class of Inductees who were honored before the start of the game.
"In the second half, we played much harder and we took great shots," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We were settling in the first half and played into their hands. We made them more uncomfortable in the second half and played 'our game.' Delray Lilley really brought great energy and did a little of everything out there and I think we fed off that energy."
The first half had 7 ties and 4 lead changes. The largest lead either team possessed was four points. Miles took an early four point lead one minute into the game after two three-pointers by Donnie Haney. Dawson responded with a lay-up by Kai Guess amd a dunk by Aries Lewis to tie it up at 6-6. Haney connected on two more from long range in the half and scored 15 points before the break. His backcourt mate, Azenio Cossa, provided more scoring, tallying 16 points. Dawson only made a paltry 3-17 from the three-point line. Fortunately they made 15-22 (68%) from the inside the three-point line.
"I thought our offense was very stagnant in the first half," continued Peterson. "We have to get the ball moving and share the ball."
In contrast to the two weapons of Miles in the first half, Dawson's attack was much more balanced with ten people getting in the scoring column, including a 25-3 advantage over Miles in bench scoring. Miles closed out the half on a 5-1 run with a three-pointer from Cossa and a dunk by Shad Boyce to give them a 46-44 lead heading into the break.
After half-time the Bucs outscored the Pioneers 10-2 in the first three minutes. They got a layup from Brandon Hymes, two more from Kai Guess and a dunk by Zakai Owens off a steal and assist from Delray Lilley. Lewis capped the run with another lay-up to give Dawson a 54-48 lead. The Buccaneers depth proved to be too much for the Pioneers. A few minutes later while clinging to a three point lead, Dawson scored 9 straight points. Lilley made a lay-up, followed by a Matt Kinzeler jumpshot. Ade Onaleye also scored inside and then Sharif Yakubu converted a traditional three-point play. That gave the Bucs a 12 point lead. Dawson maintained a pretty healthy lead the rest of the of the way. Dawson forced 9 second half turnovers and converted them into 12 points. Their largest lead was 18 points with a little over a minute remaining. They shot a blistering 71% in the second half (22-31) and 75% from the three-point line (6-8). The Bucs outscored Miles 60-43 after the break. Dawson controlled the glass 42-30 for the game and 14-9 on the offensive glass. They also shared the ball well, collecting 25 assists on 40 made field goals. Overall, Dawson converted 68.9% of their two-point attempts (31-45), compared to just 53.7% for Miles.
The Buccaneers held Haney scoreless in the second half, but Azenio Cossa finished with a game high 37 points. Kai Guess led Dawson with 20 points on 9-11 shooting from the field. Brandon Hymes and Matt Kinzeler scored 14 points each. Ade Onaleye and Delray Lilley scored 10 points each. Lilley also contributed 6 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds. Kuich Gatwech finished with a game high 8 rebounds.
Dawson improves to 18-7 overall and 6-1 in the Mon-Dak Conference with a road matchup next Sunday looming against the 6-1 North Dakota State College of Science Wildcats.
