Dawson Falls Just Short Against Indian Hills
In the North Central District Championship Game in Ottumwa, Iowa, the Dawson Buccaneers comeback bid fell just short. Down by 23 points in the second half, Dawson pulled within a point late in the game before falling 80-75 to the #2 nationally ranked Indian Hills Community College Warriors. The win was the 18th in a row for Indian Hills. Fifteen of those eighteen wins were by double digits. With the win, Indian Hills earns an automatic bid for the National Tournament as the North Central District Champions.
"We knew before the game that if we could rebound with them, we would give ourselves a chance at the end," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We dug ourselves into a hole in the first half and at the start of the second by not defending the way we are capable of, but all year long this team just never gives up. We've come back from double digits several other times so everyone still believed, even when we were down by twenty points. We finally started getting some stops and put together a couple of runs to get back into it. We just needed one more play at the end and we could've gotten the job done."
The Buccaneers jumped out of the gate early and held the lead for most of the opening twelve minutes until the Warriors defense forced a few turnovers which led to them scoring in transition. Indian Hills eventually built up a double digit lead and went into the break with a 49-34 lead. There were four ties and three lead changes in the first half. The Warriors had the advantage in the paint (22 points to 10 points) and shot 47% from the field compared to 31% for Dawson. They also had twice as many free throws. The Buccaneers made six three-pointers though to keep them in the game.
The Warriors came out of half-time sizzling and bumped the lead from 15 points to 23 points in the first 1:30. It looked like they were going to put the game away, but Dawson wasn't ready to throw in the towel. The Buccaneers finally tightened up their defense and started chipping away at the deficit. Brandon Hymes and Aries Lewis led the charge with 13 points and 11 points respectively in the second half. Dawson limited Indian Hills to 39% shooting from the field and 11% from the three point line in the final twenty minutes. The Bucs never let up, finally getting the deficit cut down to a single point in the final minute. After two Indian Hills free throws, the Bucs had possession, down by three points, with twenty seconds remaining. Brandon Hymes three-point attempt was blocked and recovered by the Warriors and Dawson was forced to foul.
Dawson outrebounded the bigger more athletic Warriors, 40-39. On the offensive glass Dawson also had the advantage 12-10 which led to a 14-9 advantage in second chance points. The Bucs made 11-30 from long range (36.7%). Indian Hills only made 4-21 for the game (19%). The biggest difference in the game was that Indian Hills went 20-25 from the free throw line while Dawson went 10-12.
Hymes finished with a game high 19 points for Dawson to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Aries Lewis scored 15 points and Kai Guess added 10. Taj Au Duke led the Warriors with 17 points.
The loss ends Dawson season with a 24-9 record. For the second straight season they won the Mon-Dak Tip off Tournament, the Mon-Dak Conference Championship, and the Region XIII Tournament, but both years they narrowly lost the District Championship to Indian Hills.
"I'm so proud," continued Peterson. "I've seen so much growth in these young men on and off the court over this season. They've come together and become like brothers to each other. They've learned so many great life lessons such as hard work, sacrifice, delayed gratification, team work, and service. As a coach you always want your teams to reach their potential. I don't know if we completely reached our potential, but we got awfully close. We had the best team in the country on the ropes gasping for air, in their own gym. It hurts to get that close to your ultimate goal and fall short. One call, one decision, one play and we could've been celebrating an opportunity to go to Hutch and represent Dawson on the biggest stage. I know there are hundreds of other teams in the country that would've loved to be in the position we were tonight. I'm thankful that God allowed us to be there and gave us the chance to show what we are capable of."
