The Dawson Community College Buccaneers won their eighth game in the past ten outings to stay one game out of first place with two games to go. The Bucs used a 22-4 run in the first half to stake themselves to a 34-17 lead ten minutes into the game. Man Man Baker was the big spark for DCC as he scored ten points in ten minutes of action in the opening half. The home team had 14 steals and converted them into 20 points. They also shot 50% from the field and made 14-15 from the free throw line to help them build the big lead. The Lumberjack’s Dwaine Simmons kept the game respectable by scoring 20 points and hauling in 6 rebounds in the first half before injuring his ankle. Dawson led at the break 57-37.
Jaron Masis opened the second half with a good post-up on the Buc’s first possession and Cam’ron Dunfee scored on an assist from Marcus Stephens to put Dawson up by 24, but the undermanned Lumberjacks fought hard to not let the game get out of hand. Rodrigo Majarin scored 21 in the second half for the visitors, but they never cut the deficit to less than 20 points after the break. Dawson’s largest lead was 33 points with two minutes to go. The game ended with the Bucs winning 97-68.
All thirteen DCC players contributed in scoring and rebounding; four guys were in double figures and eight players had seven points or more. Baker led the way with 16 points while Kolten Hitt, CJ Nelson and Eric Jackson all scored ten points each. Dawson’s bench outscored the visitors 59-7. Devin Collins contributed 10 rebounds. Baker also finished with 6 steals and Kayden Hitt had 5 steals. The Bucs connected on 50% of their shots from the field and 90% from the free throw line. They dominated the boards 46-23 and scored 18 second chance points. The home team forced 24 turnovers on the night, but also committed 21 turnovers of their own.
Coach Joe Peterson wasn’t pleased despite the win, “I think we let up on the defensive end tonight and didn’t fly around like we are capable of. We were content just being average instead of trying to be great. And on the offensive end, we didn’t handle the ball very well. With little pressure, we still made stupid passes and tried to be too cute with the ball. We got away with it tonight, but it could come back to bite us in future games if we don’t get it fixed.”
The win moves Dawson to 18-10 on the season and 9-3 in conference. Williston sits atop the conference with a 10-2 record while Dawson is tied for second with NDSCS. The Bucs travel an hour down the road on Thursday to play rivals Miles Community College at 7:30 pm before returning home for the final game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm vs. Bismarck State College.