Dawson Rebounds with Big Home Win Over Dakota College
(pictured: Jalen Tot goes by defender)
The Dawson Community College Buccaneers rebounded with an offensive explosion at home Thursday night vs. the Dakota College Bottineau Lumberjacks. In their last game, Dawson lost on the road to Williston State College 70-74. On this night, the Bucs almost scored 70 in the first half alone. Joe Mpoyo didn’t miss many shots, but he did miss a shot at the half-time buzzer that would have given Dawson 70 points in the half. The Bucs still had a sizeable 67-35 advantage at the break and rode that momentum to beat the visitors 112-69.
Bucs Coach Joe Peterson shared, “We came out with a lot of fire tonight. Our guys love playing at home. The way our college and community support them makes it a fun atmosphere and gives them a little extra juice. On top of that, I think we were hungry to get that bad taste from Monday out of our mouth. We completely dominated the glass tonight. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
Dawson jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Their first three baskets came on 3-pointers from Michael Jok, Joe Mpoyo and Jajuan Tot. Kennedy Brown made a jump shot and then Reggie Martin got a fastbreak dunk as Dawson was off to the races. Dakota College never got back within single digits after that. The Bucs also closed the half as well as they started it going on an 18-2 run to increase their lead from 16 points to 32 points entering the locker room. That run also included three 3-pointers, but this time they all came from Mpoyo who couldn’t seem to miss until that final shot. He shot 6-8 from the field and 4-6 from the 3-point line in the first half to score 16 points. Martin contributed 12 points and Jalen Tot 10 points in the first half. As a team, Dawson shot 56% from the field and 50% from 3-point range while forcing 15 turnovers and dominating the boards 27-12 in the opening twenty minutes.
The margin never got closer than 30 points in the second half and the Bucs entertained the crowd with more 3-pointers and dunks, cruising to their 32nd straight home conference victory. For the game, Dawson shot 51% from the field, 49% (16-33) from 3-point range and 77% from the free throw line while DCB shot 38%, 26% and 50%. The Bucs forced 25 turnovers and held a 52-28 advantage on the glass. All eleven Bucs got in the scoring column and six were in double digits. The Tot twins, Jalen and Jajuan, both contributed 8 assists to keep everyone involved.
The Bucs were led by Joe Mpoyo who scored 21 points on 8-12 shooting. Reggie Martin scored 15 to go along with 8 rebounds and DeAngelo Horn also scored 15 while grabbing 5 rebounds. Kennedy Brown had a big game with 14 points, 13 rebounds, as well as 4 blocks. Michael Jok and Jalen Tot both had 13 points and good all-around games as Michael finished with 5 rebounds and 3 steals and Jalen had 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
The Jacks were led by guards Deron McDaniel and DeAngelo Bell as they both scored 19 points each.
Dawson is now 17-4 on the season and 9-3 in conference. They will host Lake Region State College on Wednesday, January 26th.
