Dawson Community College defeated Williston State College 88-76 in the first semifinal Friday night in the NJCAA Division 1 Region XIII Tournament. They will be playing in the championship game for the fourth time in the past six years.
The Bucs scored the first basket of the game on an offensive rebound and putback by Charles Lampten and never looked back. They held the visiting Tetons to only 10 points in the first ten minutes of the game and built a nine point advantage 19-10. The margin stayed between 7-12 points for the rest of the half. With nine seconds remaining Isaiah Williams connected on a 3-pointer to bring Williston within seven points at 40-33, but Roulervee Vann answered for Dawson with a 3-pointer as time expired to give Dawson a double digit cushion heading into the break.
Once again, the first ten minutes of the half, Dawson’s defense was very tight with Williston only managing ten points as the Bucs built a twenty point lead 61-41. Williston made a few runs but couldn’t ever get the deficit into single digits and Dawson won by double digits for the 14th time during their 16 game winning streak.
The Bucs posted five guys in double figures and two others finished with nine points in the balanced attack. CJ Nelson led the way with a game high 16 points and Camron Dunfee scored 15. The Bucs outrebounded the Tetons 44-33 and held them to 34% shooting on the night. The biggest advantage was with points in the paint where Dawson dominated 48-18. Williston hung around thanks to making 26-30 from the free throw line. The Bucs connected on 47% of their shots from the field and 90% from the free throw line. It was the 16th straight win for Dawson who moves to 26-6 on the season.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson was pleased, “I thought our guys did exactly what they needed to. They took control early, limited the 3 point attempts from their top two scorers and controlled the glass. That is a great recipe for success in the post-season. We are excited to be back in the championship game and happy that this time we get it at home.”
Dawson will play Miles Community College for the Region XIII Championship Saturday night at 6:00 pm in Glendive. This will be the fourth meeting of the year between the two rivals with Dawson winning the first three meetings.