Pictured: Demetric Kindle
Feb 25, 2024
The Dawson Buccaneers closed out the regular season with a bang on the road at Miles Community College Sunday afternoon. The Bucs forced 31 turnovers and made 12 three-pointers en route to winning 125-79. Dawson put up 71 points in the second half to post their season high in points. Eight guys scored in double figures to help the Bucs finish the regular season 24-6 overall and 17-4 in conference.
"It was quite an effort tonight," exclaimed Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Our guys came in with the right mentality after a tough loss in our last outing. We didn't hang our heads, we just kept on working and trying to get better. I especially loved the way we rebounded. I think we've made some big strides in that area over the past couple of weeks. And anytime you get five guys off the bench putting up double figures, you know it is probably going to be a good night offensively."
Dawson got the game off to a good start with a couple of steals and scores in the opening seconds. That turned out to be a harbinger of what was to come as Dawson went on to force 17 turnovers in the first half. Justin Asi had the hot hand, scoring 15 points in the opening twenty minutes, including 2-2 from the 3-point line. Nine guys scored for Dawson in the first half, helping them build a double digit lead. As the half wore on and the Pioneers wore down, Dawson got to the free throw line often, converting 17- 24 from the charity stripe. Miles shot the ball well (58%), but only got off 26 shots because of the turnover problems. Dawson took a 54-40 advantage into half-time.
In the second half, Dawson continued forcing turnovers and outrebounding the hosts, but they also got hot shooting the ball. The Bucs shot a blistering 71% from the field and 58% from the 3-point line. Miles had no chance to get back into the game as Dawson cruised to the easy victory. Demetric Kindle capped the victory with two steals and dunks in the last minute of the game.
Dawson took 26 more shots in the game and outrebounded Miles 35-20.
Justin Asi led all scorers with 26 points on only 13 shots. He went 10-13 from the field and 5-5 from the three-point line. Demetric Kindle scored 17 points and Ty Buckmon scored 15. Nine players scored at least nine points for Dawson. Payton Kokot and Daniel Piech Meat had 14 points each to lead Miles.
Dawson finished the Mon-Dak Conference regular season in 2nd place and earned a first round bye in the Region XIII Tournament. They will play in the semifinals in Wahpeton, ND on Saturday at 4:00 pm CST against the winner of the Lake Region vs. Miles game on Wednesday.