Clutch free throw gives Dawson first Region Championship in 49 years

Editor’s note: This is a release from Dawson Community College. Dawson wins the Region XIII Championship over Miles in a thriller 96-95. Camron Dunfee made a free throw with five seconds remaining to give Dawson their first Region Championship in 49 years. After leading most of the game, Dawson found themselves down by one with 43 seconds remaining and Man Man Baker drew a foul on a drive to the basket. Baker hit the first and missed the second free throw, but teammate Devin Collins snagged the offensive rebound and Kolten Hitt scored with 19 seconds left to give Dawson a two point advantage. Deondre Northey answered back quickly for Miles with a drive and bucket to tie the score at 95. The Bucs didn’t waste any time getting the ball in and down the court to Dunfee in the corner who drove and drew the contact at the rim. He missed the first free throw and made the second with 5 seconds left. Jakim Rickett’s desperation heave at the buzzer was nowhere close and the Bucs clinched the championship. It was their 17th straight win and the 100th win of Coach Joe Peterson’s five year tenure at Dawson. Coach Peterson shared his thoughts, “I’m just so happy for these guys. They have put in so much time and effort into this program and into each other. They have bought into our system and have made so many sacrifices for the team. We don’t always get a chance to see the fruits of our labor so when we get moments like this, we just need to thank God and enjoy it.” Peterson was awarded the Region XIII Coach of the Year award and CJ Nelson was named the Region XIII Tournament MVP. Nelson had 12 points and 4 assists in the championship game and 16 points in the semifinal. Miles reached the championship game by beating Lake Region State College in the quarterfinals and coming back from 14 points down to upset #2 Seed North Dakota State College of Science in the semifinals. Dawson received a first round bye and then beat Williston State College by 12 points in the semifinals. Charles Lampten got the scoring started for Dawson early on with two thunderous dunks for their first four points and then a little bit later grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside to give Dawson a 12-5 lead. The Bucs built their biggest lead of the game with a couple of 3-pointers from CJ Nelson and one by Devin Collins to go up 23-13; but the visiting Pioneers kept fighting all night. The first half ended with a flurry as Gedeon Buzangu scored inside with a minute left to put Miles up by two points. Beau Santistevan responded back with a 3 pointer and then CJ Nelson followed that up with another from long range to give Dawson the four point lead with ten seconds left. Favour Chukwukelu wasn’t done though as he connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull Miles within one point. It was his 4th 3-pointer of the first half. Dawson kept the lead for most of the second half with Miles occasionally tying it up or gaining a small advantage. The game included 13 ties and 10 lead changes. The wild finish was set up by Issac Abergut making a couple of free throws for Miles and then Kolten Hitt making a big 3-pointer with 48 seconds to give Dawson a 92-91 advantage. In the end, it was Dunfee’s big free throw that was the difference between these two teams. Six guys finished in double figures for Dawson who shot 40.3% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range. Man Man Baker had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Roulervee Vann, CJ Nelson and Charles Lampten finished with 12 points each. Lampten also had 7 rebounds. Beau Santistevan and Devin Collins had 11 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds. Miles shot 50% from the field, but only 33% from the 3-point line a measly 3 of 14 in the second half. They also had 19 turnovers which led to 23 points from the Bucs. Deondre Northey had a game high 28 points and Favour Chukwukelu pumped in 19 points. It was the 4th time Dawson beat Miles this year. The last Region Championship Dawson won was in 1971. Dawson will play in the District Championship game on Thursday at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. The winner of the District Championship Game will receive an automatic birth to the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas March 18-23.