Dawson Beats Bismarck for the Third Time
The Dawson Buccaneers continued their domination of the Mon-Dak Conference by forcing 30 turnovers in a 89-68 win over the visiting Bismarck State Mystics on Sunday afternoon. It was the third time this year the Bucs have beaten the Mystics.
"We didn't bring the intensity we needed to for most of the night," explained Dawson Coach Joe Peterson. "Bismarck played harder and took it to us in the first half. We eventually turned up the pressure and got it going in the second half, but the best teams do that for a full forty minutes."
Once again, the first half was hotly contested with four ties and four lead changes. Dawson's biggest lead came in the opening two minutes when Justin Asi and Ade Onaleye made back to back three pointers to give the home team a 6-2 advantage. The Mystics biggest lead was by six points with 9:31 left. Bismarck did most of their damage in transition and in the paint. BSC scored 14 points in transition in the half and outscored Dawson 22-12 in the paint. The Bucs did much of their damage on the perimeter, making 7 of their 20 three-point attempts. The only player in double figures in the opening half for either team was Bismarck's Carter Zeller with 11 points. After a free throw from Sam Massaquoi, the Bucs took a narrow 38-37 lead into the half-time break.
The first eight minutes of the second half remained even, but the Bucs took control of the game when their reserves went on a 15-2 run spurred on by great defense from Sam Massaquoi. It started with a traditional 3-point play by Brandon Hymes on an offensive rebound. Massaquoi got steals on 3 consecutive possessions that led to lay-ups by him and a dunk from Kur Maler. Hymes collected a steal and a lay-up on the next possession. Bismarck later cut the deficit to nine points at 60-69, but the Bucs answered with another big run; 17-5 this time. Once again it was Hymes with five points and Justin Asi pumped in eight points during that stretch. Dawson forced Bismarck into 19 second half turnovers. They outscored their visitors 51-31 in the second half en route to the twenty-one point win.
Dawson's bench outscored the Mystics 42-7 for the game. The Bucs shot 48% from the field, 37% from the 3-point line and 80% from the free throw line (16-20).
Justin Asi had a game high 22 points and 8 rebounds. Seth Amunrud finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Brandon Hymes had a good all-around game with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Sam Massaquoi rounded out the double digit scorers for Dawson with 10 points and 4 steals. Carter Zeller led Bismarck with 18 points and 9 rebounds.
The Bucs will be hosting United Tribes Technical College on Monday night at 7:30 pm. UTTC is currently in 3rd place in the Mon-Dak Conference. Monday's game sponsor is Stockman Bank. They will be offering free popcorn to those in attendance.
