Dawson Opens Conference with Come from Behind OT Win
It wasn't quite what they expected in their first Mon-Dak Conference game, but Dawson fought back from ten points down with ten minutes remaining and five points down with under a minute left to send the game into overtime and beat the visiting Lake Region State College Royals 95-92. Dawson outrebounded the Royals 67-43 overall and 33-10 on the offensive glass. That led to a 33-11 advantage in second chance points.
"Coach Tunnell spent a lot of time compiling rebounding reports from the first half of our season and we spent some time today looking at those reports before the game," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Our guys really responded with an incredible effort on the boards. We shot it really poorly so we needed every one of those rebounds to give us a chance. I was so proud of how we kept playing hard and competing even though it wasn't our best night offensively. Good teams find different ways to win."
It was Jordan Jasper who provided the late game heroics. With just under a minute left and down 81-76, Jasper stole the inbounds pass and went straight to the basket to cut the deficit to three points. With twenty seconds on the clock, the Royals missed the front end of a one and one free throw. Dawson collected the rebound and raced down the court where Jasper made the game tying three pointer with ten seconds left. Brandon Hymes defended the final Lake Region attempt at the buzzer and Aries Lewis collected the rebound to force the overtime.
In overtime Poet Davis scored first for the visitors with a lay-up, but Ade Onaleye answered with his only make of the day, a 3-pointer to give Dawson the lead and the momentum. The Bucs only made 3-9 field goal attempts in the extra period, but made all seven of their free throws while Lake Region only made 3-6; which turned out to be the difference in the game. Justin Asi made two free throws with nine seconds left to give Dawson a five point advantage. Jasper made all four of his free throws in overtime and went 11-11 from the line for the game. Asi also had two field goals in overtime, both on offensive rebounds.
The game didn't look like it was going to be very close in the early stages as Dawson jumped out with leads of 9-0 and then 12-2. The hosts maintained a lead throughout the first half, thanks to a huge 37-16 advantage on the glass and 21-5 on the offensive glass. Asi led the way for Dawson with 11 points in 8 minutes. Ginuwine Tropnas led Lake Region with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Kur Maler finished off the first half scoring with a 3-pointer that sent Dawson into the break with a 48-39 advantage.
In the second half, the Royals eventually tied the game at 54 with a 3-pointer from Remy Davis Warrington. After 3-pointers from Matt Mudingay and Josh Miller, Lake Region took a six point lead. The run continued with two more lay-ups and Lake Region had a 64-54 advantage halfway through the second half. Asi and Jasper jump-started Dawson's offense by scoring the next 16 points. The final lay-up by Jasper cut the deficit to 74-73 with a little over three minutes remaining. In the second half, Dawson only shot 26% from the field (10-38) and 9% from beyond the arc (1-9). Fortunately, they forced 13 turnovers and kept pounding the glass.
"This is what the conference season is like at times," added Coach Peterson. "The teams know each other well and are going to battle night in and night out. Everyone started today with a 0-0 record so everyone has hope and everyone has a chance. It's a long game and anything can happen. Hopefully we learn some good things from this and get better because of it."
Justin Asi finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Jordan Jasper had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Aries Lewis contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds. Ginuwine Tropnas led the Royals with 20 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.
Dawson moves to 15-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference. They will host North Dakota State College of Science at 7:30 pm on Monday night.