Dawson Wins Close One against Lake Region
(pictured: Kose Egbule)
The Buccaneers took a hard fought win over the Lake Region State College Royals 72-71 to move to 18-4 overall and 10-3 in conference. It was Dawson's 33rd straight conference home win, a record dating back to January 24, 2019. Wednesday's game was a tight one with 13 ties and 14 lead changes, but the Bucs hit free throws and got defensive stops at the end.
"Lake Region is a tough team," commented Bucs Coach Joe Peterson. "They are smart and physical and really dominated us on the boards, but our guys kept working and made the plays they needed to at the end of the game. A few of our best players didn't have their best night, but we found a way to win in the end."
Kennedy Brown helped Dawson get off to a good start with a mid-range jumper to get the scoring going, and then after a 3-point shot by Michael Jok, Brown scored on a dunk and a lay-up to give the Bucs a 9-2 lead. That was the largest lead either team had in the first half as they battled back and forth with 6 ties and 8 lead changes. Dawson closed out the half with a drive by Reggie Martin and then two free throws from DeAngelo Horn. After Clarence Daniels got a tip-in for the Royals with 7 seconds left, Jalen Tot drove down and drew a foul and connected on two free throws to give the Bucs a 35-30 half-time advantage. Daniels dominated the opening half with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Anthony Davis contributed 9 points. Horn led Dawson with 11 points and 5 rebounds. The visitors controlled the boards 24-16 while Dawson won the turnover battle 11-4.
Dawson jumped out to a double digit advantage in the first couple of minutes of the second half when they went on a 12-4 run. Martin scored on two drives and Michael Jok connected on two 3-pointers. Lake Region climbed back into it halfway through the second half with a 9-0 run as Dawson struggled to score. The teams kept exchanging the lead over a four minute stretch and Lake Region took their biggest lead at 64-60 after Carson Henningsgard made two straight 3-pointers. With four minutes left, Riley Spoonhunter answered back with a 3-pointer for the home team. Dawson's defense tightened up over the final four minutes, only allowing the Royals to score five points. Jok made a 3-pointer to tie it at 66 with three minutes remaining. That was Dawson's last field goal of the night, but Martin made four free throws and Horn made two. Horn's free throws put Dawson up by 1 point with less than a minute left. DCC's defense sealed the win in the last two possessions. Jalen Tot stole a pass on one possession and then on Lake Region's final possession Michael Jok stepped over and took a charge on Henningsgard with 3 seconds on the clock. The shot went in but was waived off because of the offensive foul. Dawson scored 24 points off of 24 Lake Region turnovers, and only turned it over 11 times themselves.
Horn led the charge with 19 points on 6-9 shooting and had 8 rebounds. Jok scored 17 on 5-9 shooting from 3PT and he also grabbed 6 boards. Martin scored 14 and had 3 steals as well.
The Royals were led by Daniels who had a big night with 25 points and 17 rebounds as well as 3 steals. Davis contributed 19 points and 3 rebounds.
Dawson 18-4 (10-3) will host Bismarck State College tomorrow night in Glendive, MT
