(Editor's note: DCC Athletics release)
GLENDIVE - Dawson Community College and Lake Region State College went right down to the wire Wednesday night in men's basketball with the Bucs prevailing 54-52.
The teams only combined for106 points and neither shot over 30% from the field.
It was a back and forth affair with 7 ties and 10 lead changes. Dawson took the lead for good on a steal by Jajuan Tot with 43 seconds left. Tot then kicked it ahead to his brother Jalen, who found Charles Lampten alone under the hoop for a lay-up and a 53-51 lead. Brody Kriesel came back and made one free throw to cut the deficit to one. Lampten rebounded the second free throw and got fouled. He also made 1 out of 2 to stretch it back to a 2 point lead. Carson Henningsgard's desperation heave at the buzzer didn't fall for Lake Region and the Bucs escaped with the two point win. The Buccaneers edged out the Royals 54-52.
It didn’t look like it would come down to a last second shot at the beginning when Dawson held the visiting Royals to only 9 points in the first 13 minutes of the game and built a 18-9 lead. Lake Region used a 9-2 run to come back and pull within two points at 20-18. Reggie Martin connected from long range and then made a free throw, but those were the last points of the half for Dawson as Lake Region closed the half by scoring the last six points to tie it up.
The largest lead of the second half for either team was a four point lead by Dawson after another bucket by Martin with 11:53 remaining. It stayed close the rest of the way and set up the exciting ending.
Dawson Coach Joe Peterson said, "It wasn't a very pretty game for sure. We were too impatient and forced too many shots, but defensively I think we took them out of what they wanted to do. They are a good team who plays hard and plays well together, but we stuck it out and survived."
The Buccaneers were led by Lampten's 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Michael Jok added 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Defensively is where the Buccaneers took a stand, as they limited shots taken by Lake Region's best players and grabbed 70% of the available defensive rebounds. Lake Region was held to 30.3% shooting for the game and 18% shooting from 3-point range. None of the Royals players reached double figures on the night.
Dawson moves to 11-2 on the season while Lake Region stands at 7-6. The same two teams will match up again tomorrow at the same time and the same place.
