Dawson Sweeps Bismarck Road Trip
In what could be the last game Dawson ever plays at Bismarck State College in their historic rivalry that has spanned over 60 years, the Buccaneers closed it out in style with a 110-81 road win over the Mystics. Bismarck State is transitioning to a four year school and will be competing at the NAIA level next year. The visitors dialed it in from long range, shooting 15-36 from beyond the arc. Seven different players made at least one three-pointer on the night. It was Dawson's fifth straight win and improves their record to 18-2 on the season and 4-0 in conference.
Bismarck jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first minute of the game, but the teams played pretty evenly for the first ten minutes. Dawson eventually took control of the game behind the dynamic duo of Justin Asi and Seth Amunrud. Asi scored 17 and Amunrud 13 in the first half. Dawson stretched their lead to 22 points with a little over three minutes left in the half and went into the intermission with a 56-37 advantage.
Dawson came out of the break with a lot of fire and quickly increased their lead to 33 points seven minutes in. The Mystics made a couple of mini-runs, but never really were a threat as the Bucs kept answering time and again. Asi and Amunrud continued to carry the load while Kur Maler also got into the act with some timely three-pointers and highlight reel dunks. Fittingly, the visitors closed out the game with a step-back three-pointer from Asi to seal the 29 point win. The Bucs shot 55% from the field and 42% from the 3-point line while outrebounding the Mystics 41-33.
"We played well in stretches tonight, but it wasn't consistent throughout the whole game," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "We gave up too many easy baskets and didn't dominate the boards like we are capable of. There's still much to work on and a lot of room for growth."
Justin Asi finished with a double double. He had a game high 31 points and a game high 10 rebounds. He shot 13-17 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Amunrud had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Kur Maler contributed 15 points on 6-7 shooting from the field. Sam Massauquoi scored 13 points and Aries Lewis added 11. Evan Tatum led Bismarck State with 21 points.
Dawson will be off for a week before they travel to Miles Community College next Monday night.
