MAYVILLE, ND-- The Mayville State University men's basketball team gave No. 6 Black Hill State University (15-3, 4-0) everything they could handle at the Lewey Lee Fieldhouse on Friday, January 14, 2011. Tied at halftime the Yellow Jackets started to make their move to try to put the Comets away, but the men fought to the end coming up short 87-76.

Bryen Piles had a solid game coming off the bench. He scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds and had four steals. One thing that doesn't show up in a stat sheet is the job he did defensively on All-American guard Cain Atkinson. Pyles was running through, around, under, and over screens all night long for the Senior Guard and didn't allow him to get a clean look at the rim while he was in.

The Yellow Jackets played with poise and confidence as the held off everything the Comets were throwing at the in the second half to pick up the tough road win. Balanced scoring helped them a lot in this game. Five players hit double figures for the Yellow Jackets in this one.

Atkinson led the way with 23 points. He has a quick release that allows him to get off a shot from just about anywhere he wants and he does a good job moving without the ball. After Atkinson they got 17 points from Clay Pottorff, 16 from Luke Enos, and 14 from Will John Johnson. Johnson had a solid performance pulling in 14 rebounds to go along with his 14 points.

The Comets had a spectacular game from Senior Guard Christian Harris. Harris led the team in scoring with 23 points, rebounds with 11, and tied Bryen Pyles with four steals. He was all over the floor and did a great job to keep the men in the game.

As a team the Comets collectively did a great job getting steals and forcing turnovers. The men recorded 16 steals as a team and forced Black Hills into 18 turnovers.

Shavontae Samuels had a solid night out of the Comet backcourt with 18 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. He penetrated the defense well and was finding his teammates with good passes.

Ross Aman had a solid night as well. He finished with eight points, six rebounds, and a steal. Aman was busy on defense trying to hold the Black Hills big men in check and battling them on the boards all night.

At the end of the game the Comets just weren't able to finish the big plays needed to come away with the victory. Mayville State University (5-11, 0-4) will be in action again on Saturday, January 15, 2011 as they play host to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.  Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.