Dawson Drops First Game of the Season

The Dawson Buccaneers lost their first game of the season on the road to the Gillette College Pronghorns 113-101. Even though Seth Amunrud put up 40 points on only 18 shots, it wasn't enough to overcome the hot shooting and balanced scoring from Gillette. The Pronghorns had 6 guys reach double figures and they shot 54% from the 3-point line, going 19-35 for the game.
Gillette jumped out early in the game by scoring 15 points in the opening four minutes. Eventually, the Buccaneers came storming back behind Amunrud and Jordan Jasper to take a six point lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. There were two ties and four lead changes in the opening twenty minutes. Dawson clung to a 51-48 lead with a little under two minutes remaining before Gillette closed out the half on a 14-0 run to take a 62-51 advantage into the break. They shot a sizzling 70% from long range, connecting on 14 of 20 shots. Six different Pronghorns made a 3-pointer with Jefferson Neary leading the way by making four of his five from downtown. Amunrud finished the half with 23 points and Jasper had 14 points for Dawson.

Their prolific scoring continued in the first ten minutes of the second half as Gillette built up a 24 point lead, but Dawson finally started getting stops on the defensive end and rode on the backs of Amunrud and Jasper to pull within seven points with a couple minutes remaining. It wasn't enough though as Gillette made their free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bucs late charge. Dawson outrebounded the hosts 40-31 overall and 13-5 on the offensive glass. Dawson shot 48% for the game, 43% from the 3-point line and 82% from the free throw line (32-39).

"It is next to impossible to allow a team to shoot that well and think you can win a game," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Our defense wasn't as good as it should've been, but you also have to give them a lot of credit for making some tough contested shots. I think it was a combination of a lack of execution and coaching on our part and good players making good plays for them. Even with all of that, we still had a chance. We just needed a few more stops and a few more positive plays. This game will undoubtedly make us better."

Amunrud's 40 points came on 10-18 shooting from the field, 4-6 from the 3-point line and 16-18 from the free throw line. He also had four assists and five steals. Jasper had 26 points on 9-14 shooting from the field. He added four assists and four rebounds. Aries Lewis contributed a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sayed Sayed had 21 points and Dane Christiansen had 20 points for Gillette.

Dawson falls to 5-1 on the year and will be back on the road next weekend for a tournament at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. They will face Central Wyoming College on Friday and
Northwest College on Saturday.