Dawson Clinches Another Mon-Dak Championship
The Dawson Buccaneers led from start to finish on their way to a 100-70 win in their final regular season game, clinching at least a share of the regular season Mon-Dak Conference Championship. It is their second straight Mon-Dak title and their fourth in the past seven years. Dawson raced out to a 17 point half-time lead against the visiting Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks and sailed away with the game in the second half, beating them for the third time this season and extending their home winning streak to 35 games vs. conference opponents. The eight sophomores were honored before the start of their final regular season home game.
"I'm happy for these sophomores to go out in style tonight," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "They have been a part of back to back conference championships. All of these guys have grown so much on and off the court during their time at Dawson. We ask them to sacrifice a lot and they do it willingly to be a part of moments like this."
Starting five sophomores who don't normally start, the Buccaneers got off on the right foot with a three-pointer from Ade Onaleye on their first possession. Kuich Gatwech followed up with a driving lay-up and then Delray Lilley made two free throws to give Dawson a 7-2 advantage. They maintained the advantage throughout and made their biggest run to closeout the half, 17-4. They held the Jacks scoreless for the last 3:21 of the half which spanned their last six possessions. The Buccaneers held Dakota College to 36% shooting from the field and 18% from the three point line in the opening half, while forcing 9 turnovers. Dawson shot 52% from the field and 50% from the three point line. Their bench scored 26 points compared to only 2 points for the visitors.
Dawson's big run in the second half started at the 16:00 minute mark when they began a 21-6 run over the next six minutes. Brandon Hymes sparked the run with eight points. The Buccaneers outside shooting cooled in the second half (3-16), but they were able to score inside the paint with 30 points and at the free throw line, making 14-19. Dawson scored 55 points in the second half.
For the game, Dawson's defense held the Jacks to 41% shooting from the field while forcing 19 turnovers. The Bucs shot 51.6% from the field and made 25-34 from the free throw line while only turning it over 10 times against Dakota College's pressure defense. Dawson outscored the visitors 46-32 in the paint, 20-7 on second chance points and 23-7 off turnovers. Their bench had a huge 59-14 advantage.
Thirteen Buccaneers got into the scoring column and nine of them scored at least 8 points. Their eight sophomores scored a total of 74 points. Hymes led the way with 14 points. Michael Murphy had 12 points. Ade Onaleye and Aries Lewis had 11 points each. Zakai Owens finished with a game high 10 rebounds. Delray Lilley contributed 5 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists to go along with his 8 points. Jaden Arzola led the visitors with 17 points.
Dawson finished the regular season with a 22-8 record overall and a 10-2 mark in conference play. They will be off for 10 days before hosting a Regional Semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4th at 6:00 pm.
