Dawson went on the road Thursday night and broke North Dakota State College of Science's 17 game home winning with a 74-58 victory. The Wildcats last loss at home was on February 5, 2018; and ironically, that was also against Dawson.
NDSCS was 14-2 on the season with one of those two losses coming at the hands of the Buccaneers in the Conference Preseason Tournament on November 2nd, losing in the semifinals 85-81. Both teams entered the matchup on Thursday night undefeated in conference.
The Wildcats scored the first basket of the game on a lay-up by Diang Gatluak. The Bucs scored the next seven points to force an early timeout and substitutions by the home team. Dawson continued to build the lead up to 12 points behind scoring from Roulervee Vann, Camron Dunfee and Beau Santistevan. They had a commanding 21-9 lead before NDSCS climbed back into the game with a 14-3 run. The Wildcats took the lead in the last minute of the half 29-28. In a very even first half, NDSCS shot it a little better from the field, 44% to 38%, but struggled from deep, 14% compared to Dawson's 40%. Dawson also forced 10 turnovers.
The hosts began the second half with a 3-pointer to go up 4, but over the next 12 minutes the teams went back and forth with 2 ties and 5 lead changes. Facing a one point deficit with 8 minute left, Dawson turned up the pressure defensively, forcing steals and pushing the ball in transition. Once again it was Dunfee and Santistevan that led the charge as they went on a 14-3 run to put them up by double digits. The Wildcats were never able to get it within single digits after that and DCC cruised to the finish line.
Dawson's defense was superb once again, holding NDSCS to 29 points in each half. Their 58 points was 32 points below their season average. Dawson held them to 41% shooting which was 8% below their season average and forced 23 turnovers, scoring 32 points off of those turnovers. The Bucs shot 55% in the second half and scored 46 points.
Dawson was led by Beau Santsitevan's 18 points and Cam'ron Dunfee contributed 17 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Duoth Gach led NDSCS with 15 points, but only shot 1-7 from 3 point range.
DCC climbs to 14-6 on the year and 3-0 in conference while NDSCS is now 14-3 on the year and 2-1 in conference.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson shared his excitement, "NDSCS has a great program with a rich history and tradition. It is never easy to beat them, especially on their home floor. Our guys really showed a lot of toughness tonight. We went through some stretches where we struggled to score, but our defense kept us in it. They never got into a rhythm offensively. It was neck and neck all game, but fortunately, we made a run at the perfect time to close it out."
The Bucs will be back at home on Sunday afternoon for a match-up with Dakota College Bottineau at 4:00 pm. Just before the start of the game, Dawson will be honoring their 2nd class of Hall of Fame Inductees.