(Editor's note: DCC Athletics release)
MILES CITY - The DCC Buccaneer men's basketball team made a statement in Miles City on Sunday afternoon by winning another tough road game in Mon-Dak Conference play.
The Bucs (17-6 and 6-0) beat the Miles Community College Pioneers 86-84. Dawson led from start to finish and even had a 19 point lead with 14:54 remaining in the game.
The Pioneers (12-9 and 4-2) climbed back into it by scoring at the free throw line and a few key 3-pointers. The Bucs went up by three in the closing seconds when Beau Santistevan made two free throws. MCC pushed the ball up the floor and drew a foul with 2 seconds remaining. Deondre Northey made the first and purposely missed the second. Teammate Gedeon Buzangu collected the rebound and shot it at the buzzer but it rimmed out to keep the Bucs undefeated in conference play at 6-0 and drops Miles to 4-2.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson was excited to come away with the road win, "We had an abysmal night shooting the ball from long range going 4-15 in the first half and 1-14 in the second half, but our guys stayed confident, took good care of the ball and got some things going to the basket. Miles also struggled to score. If we would have done a better job keeping them off the free throw line and if we could have made a few jumpers, it wouldn't have been as close at the end."
Devin Collins led the charge for Dawson with 20 points and 6 rebounds and fellow forward Beau Santistevan contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds. Despite a poor shooting night, Camron Dunfee also added 15 points and Man Man Baker finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists before fouling out. Gedeon Buzangu only made 4 of 13 field goals for Miles, but connected on 7 of 8 from the free throw line to score 15 points and he had a monster game on the boards with 21 rebounds.
Dawson will play one more road game at United Tribes on Thursday before finally returning home on Super Bowl Sunday.
Dawson's women lost a hard fought battle in Miles City. The Lady Buccaneers (3-3, 11-12) lost to the Lady Pioneers (6-0, 14-8) of Miles Community College 56-69.
Dawson controlled the first two quarters, leading the game at halftime with a score of 29-25. Miles came out on fire in the 3rd quarter outscoring the Lady Bucs 23-11, as well as winning the 4th quarter 21-16. The score was tied 3 times and there were 4 lead changes throughout the game. Even though Dawson outscored Miles from the bench 15-10, Miles scored 18 points off turnovers while Dawson had only 9. Miles also outscored Dawson in the paint 30-20. The Lady Pioneers dominated the boards, out-rebounding DCC 51-38.
Ashley Orozco led the Lady Bucs with 16 points while having 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ashya Klopfenstein was held out most of the first half due to foul trouble, but still managed to have 13 points and 5 rebounds.
The DCC Women will be on the road again in Bismarck, ND to play against United Tribes Technical College on Thursday, January 30 at 4:30 p.m. MST.
