Dawson Takes Care of Business on Road
The Dawson Buccaneers traveled to Bottineau, North Dakota on Thursday for a match-up with the Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks. It was the last game of the first round of the conference season. The Buccaneers handled the Jacks 96-76 behind the scoring of Mikey Ngoyi and Kai Guess. The win boosts Dawson's record to 17-7 overall and 5-1 in conference. They are tied at the top of the Mon-Dak Conference with North Dakota State College of Science.
"We did some good things tonight, but could've been a little better on the defensive end," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "I think we let them get too many easy baskets inside. Fortunately we shot the ball well and controlled most of the game. It is not easy to win on the road in conference, so I'm always glad when we can find a way to get the job done, especially in a tough environment."
Aries Lewis had a strong showing early on to help Dawson get off to a good start. He scored six points in the first four minutes. Ngoyi and Guess really jump-started the Bucs offense. In the first half, both of them connected on 4-6 from three-point range. Guess finished the half with 15 points and Ngoyi had 16 points. Dawson climbed out to a 14 point lead halfway through the first twenty minutes and kept their lead in double digits the rest of the way. Guess drained his fourth triple of the half on an assist from Ade Onaleye with just a few seconds left to give Dawson a 51-38 half-time advantage. Dawson only turned it over 5 times in the half and outrebounded the Lumberjacks 19-13. DCB shot 50% from the field and scored 16 points in the paint.
Dawson came out of half-time ready to go as they built their lead up to 24 points just three minutes after the break. Dakota College fought back by getting some turnovers and converting them into transition points. Ngoyi and Guess continued to score, but it was a much more balanced effort in the final twenty minutes with several others contributing. Dawson kept pretty firm control of the game throughout by shooting 57.7% from the field and holding the Jacks to 41% shooting from the field and 18% from the three-point line in the half. The visitors outscored DCB 45-38 after the break to secure the twenty point win.
Dawson shot 54.8% for the game and 40% from the three point line. They outscored them 20-10 in points off turnovers, 16-10 in second chance points, and 30-23 in points off the bench. Dakota College only shot 5-23 (21.7%) from long range.
Ngoyi finished with a game high 24 points, including 6-10 from the three point line. He also had 4 rebounds, 3 steals and no turnovers. Guess had 21 points, including 5-8 from the three point line. He also added 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Matt Kinzeler and Aries Lewis rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and 10 points respectively. Ade Onaleye finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Edward Lual led Dakota College at Bottineau with 23 points.
Dawson returns home to open the second half of conference play with their Hall of Fame Game on Sunday at 4:00 pm vs. Miles Community College.
