Dawson Bucs Capture Mon-Dak Tip Off Championship Again
Dawson put together their best game of the young season on Sunday afternoon in New Town, North Dakota to capture their forth straight Mon-Dak Tip Off Tournament Championship. The Bucs handed the Miles Community College Pioneers a 115-75 loss.
Dawson won their three games by 37, 28 and 40 points as they moved to 3-0 on the season with two home games coming this week on Thursday and Friday.
"Our play has exceeded my expectations in these first three games," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Our intensity has definitely gone up a few notches. We have the depth to keep coming at teams in waves without letting up. It seems like a different guy steps up on each rotation that we make. As long as we keep the ball moving and find the open man, we are pretty versatile and dangerous. We do need to get better at being physical on the boards more consistently."
Miles scored the first points of the game on a transition dunk and then took the lead again soon after. It didn't take long for the Dawson defense to start forcing turnovers and igniting the offense. Matt Kinzeler made a 3-pointer that put the Bucs up by double digits and then they were off to the races. Dawson forced 15 turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers in the first half. They also outscored them in the paint (32-14) and off the bench (39-17). Kai Guess scored 13 points and Matt Kinzeler scored 11 points to lead Dawson. The Bucs shot 56% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line in the half. They held a commanding 63-40 lead heading into the break.
The second half was very similar to the first. The defense of Dawson forced 14 more turnovers, leading to 24 more points from those turnovers. They also continued to shoot over 50% from the field, eventually pushing the lead to forty points. The Bucs outscored the Pioneers 52-35 in the final twenty minutes.
Miles turned it over 29 times in the game and shot 35% from the field against the tough, stingy defense of the Buccaneers. The biggest positives for Miles were winning the rebounding battle 45-39 and shooting 20-22 from the free throw line. Dawson dominated all of the other statistical categories.
Guess led six Bucs in double figures with 21 points, including 3-4 from the 3-point line. Kinzeler scored 17 points, including 4-7 from long range. Kuirowl Chol contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds. Ade Onaleye also scored 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Zakai Owens had a well rounded game with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. Brandon Hymes was the final double digit scorer with 10 points. Azenio Cossa led the Pioneers with 22 points.
Matt Kinzeler was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Dawson will play in their home opener on Thursday evening when they host Northwest College for a women's and men's doubleheader at 5:30 and 7:30 pm. They will play at the same times on Friday night against Eastern Wyoming College.
