Box Score MADISON, SD – The Comets had another road game in front of them before the holiday break, MSU traveled down to Madison, SD to take on Dakota State in a Sunday afternoon game. Coming off their conference loss on the road to Dickinson State the prior weekend, the Comets were looking to keep themselves near the top of the conference standings.
The game began as a tight battle in the first ten minutes of play as the Comets scored first with
Gorg Alhag's 3-pointer, that was answered by two quick buckets for the Trojans. Coach Tighe called a timeout after the first 3:30 of action after his team was down 10-5. It was an effective timeout to take as the momentum switched to the Comets going on 10-2 run before a three by the Trojans tied it up at 15 each.
The game would tie up at 17, 19, and 21 points before the Comets went on another six-point surge to force a Trojan timeout with 7:29 to go in the half.
Garek Droog was coming off the bench and immediately producing for the Comets, leading the team in points with ten at the half. DSU kept fighting back, coming within two points at three different times. Droog and
Daniel Lindgren finished off the first half in scoring for the Comets to take a 41-37 lead at the half. The Comets were dominating the boards at that point in the game, with 26 overall to the Trojans' 10. Both teams were nearly identical in field goal percentages with the Comets going 16-33 and the Trojans 17-35.
In the second half, the Comets came out strong with a very fast 15-7 scoring run within the first three minutes of play, jumping to a 56-44 lead. The Trojans called a time out and swung the momentum their way, going on a 13-9 run to close the gap, 63 to 57. After five more free throws and a bucket, the Trojans were now within three at 67-64. The Comets had to change direction in a hurry, and responded with some more consistent efforts from Droog, Alhag and Lindgren. Their efforts helped fuel a 14-4 run at that point and helped keep a steady lead to finish things out with another win in the conference, 89-79.
Leading all scorers was the Trojans' Bobby Farquah, with 19. For the Comets, two players led with 17 each, those being
Daniel Lindgren and
Garek Droog.
Gorg Alhag had 15, and two other Comets with ten a piece,
Eric Staebler and
Creighton Pfau. Droog led with 11 rebounds for the Comets, making a double-double effort on the night. Daymarrco Green had 6 assists on the night to lead the Comets. As a team, the Comets out-rebounded the Trojans 41 to 26, a 14-6 advantage on the offensive boards.
The Comets are now 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the NSAA, sitting at the top of the conference standings. Next up for the Comets will be Mount Marty College on Monday night at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse, game time is 5:00 pm.
