Pictured: Jordan Jasper
Feb 15, 2024
On Sophomore Night, the Dawson Community College Buccaneers won their final regular season home game 82-69 over the Williston State College Tetons. The win boosts Dawson's overall record to 22-5 and their conference mark to 15-3. Dawson scored 58 points in the paint compared to the visitors 28 points. Roniel Oguekwe led the charge inside with a game high 21 points on 10-10 shooting. It was also Oguekwe's career high.
"I'm happy for Rony to play so well in his final home game," shared Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "He works so hard, always stays positive and just keeps getting better and better every day. I thought when we played with a sense of urgency we were very good tonight, but when we relaxed a little, they would get right back into the game. We are still working on putting together forty good minutes."
The visiting Tetons jumped out to a 6-0 lead on two three-pointers from Tyler Best, but Dawson captured the lead (12-11) a couple minutes later on a 3-pointer by Seth Amunrud and a layup from Ty Buckmon. Dawson kept the lead for the remaining 36 minutes of the game. It was a 13-0 run that gave Dawson a 20-11 lead with 13:42 remaining in the half. Dawson looked like it was going to blow the game open with a 14-1 run that put them up by 17 points with 7:41 remaining in the first half, but Williston stormed back with their own 14-3 run. The Bucs went into the break with a 45-39 lead.
Dawson opened the second half by scoring the first two baskets and going on a 10-3 run to stretch their lead to double digits. The lead remained in double digits for most of the second half as Dawson continued to dominate in the paint. They shot a measly 4-23 from the 3-point line, but shot 60% from inside the arc. Along with the big advantage scoring in the paint, Dawson also outscored the visitors 17-7 in points off turnovers and 17-8 in second chance points.
To go along with Oguekwe's 21 points for the Bucs, Justin Asi contributed 14 points and 7 rebounds. Ty Buckmon finished with 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Rex Stirling led Williston with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Dawson will play their final three games on the road next week.