Box Score

FOREST CITY, IA – The Mayville State Comets made their second trip in a week to Forest City, Iowa for a rematch against the Waldorf Warriors in the quarterfinals of the NSAA Post-Season Tournament on Thursday night. The teams split their conference season games, and after a recent matchup this past Saturday, the scouting reports were locked in from both sides to create a tightly-matched contest.

The Comets came out first with five straight points from Gorg Alhag, getting things going with a 3 and another bucket to give the Comets their biggest lead in the first half. Waldorf answered back quickly, and the game would remain very close in a shot-for-shot battle throughout the half. Waldorf's greatest lead was a 4-point spread, which came roughly with nine minutes to play in the half.

With seven ties and ten lead changes in the first half alone, both teams were on the edge of their benches. Alhag was leading the effort for the Comets and shooting efficiently, scoring 14 before halftime, going 7-10 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc. 

With 3:30 left to play in the half, the Comets had a 1-point advantage with the score at 25-24. The close battle continued for the next three minutes with the Warriors tying things up at 31 apiece right before halftime, but Eric Staebler was able to get the last shot and drill a mid-range jumper to take the 2-point lead into the break, 33-31.

The Comets got things going in the second half with a quick four points, that was answered by a Brady Kuchinka 3-pointer. Kuchinka would go on to hit two more from deep and give Waldorf the lead, 40-37, at the 17-minute mark, the sophomore point guard was doing it all for the Warriors by hitting shots and finding open teammates to give Waldorf a 4-point advantage, 48-44, at the 11:50 mark. 

From there, Cameron Epps managed to hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to regain the lead for the Comets. Then after a response from the Warriors, Epps came back with another 3 and a smooth reverse layup in the middle of a quick 9-0 run to give Mayville State a 61-52 lead. The Comets got their first double-digit lead off an impressive inbounds play alley oop to Alhag where he got fouled while laying the ball in the hoop, after the made free throw the Comets were up by ten at the 5:35 mark.  

It was missed free throws that plagued the Warriors down the final stretch of the game. Mayville State was able to capitalize on their trips to the charity stripe while Waldorf missed six free throws in the second half alone. Tough defense from the Comets and good rebounding limited Waldorf to one shot on most trips late in the game. 

It looked like MSU was ready to pull away late, but a couple missed opportunities by the Comets from the free throw line opened the door a little bit for Waldorf. With 47 seconds left, Falmata Tula put back a missed shot to bring the Warriors within six. But, a few made free throws from Daniel Lindgren in the closing seconds were enough to close the door, giving the Comets a quarterfinal win, 75-68.  

Coach Darren Tighe felt great after the game about his team's toughness and gritty performance. "I'm thrilled for our guys and just happy to be a part of this team. One of the great things about this team is through the good and tough times of the season, they have never stopped believing in each other. It's a special group."

Leading all scorers and keeping the Comets on track all night was Gorg Alhag with 32 points, shooting an impressive 11-17 from the floor and going 8-8 on free throws. He was followed on the team by Cameron Epps with 17, who went 3-6 on three's and 7-12 from the field. Daniel Lindgren also got into double digits with twelve points. For the Warriors, Brady Kuchinka led the team with 22 points, Falmata Tula with 17, and Kaden Verdin with twelve.

Garek Droog led the Comets in rebounds with nine, followed by Alhag with seven. It was a tight contest in rebounding, the Comets gaining the edge, 41 to 38. They also had a narrow edge in overall field goal percentage, shooting 41% to Waldorf's 37%. The close nature of the game meant that every shot was crucial, the Comets had just two more field goals and three more free throws than Waldorf in the 7-point victory. 

Next action for the Comets will be in the NSAA semifinals, the NSAA's "Final Four", taking on #1 seed Bellevue University in Bellevue, NE this Sunday. Tipoff is set for 4:00 pm.