Box Score

BELLEVUE, NE – After earning a trip to the NSAA Final Four, the Comets traveled to the host site of the postseason tournament in Bellevue, NE to take on the #1 seed Bellevue Bruins on Sunday afternoon. After falling twice to the Bruins during the regular season, the Comets came out with a prepared edge that helped set the tone for the game.

Daniel Lindgren was able to get things going for Mayville State, he lit up the scoreboard first for the Comets with five of the team's first six points. The Comets took a 10-5 lead but had a difficult time shaking off B.J. Shelton and Richard Reed from the Bruins, Reed was able to close the gap to one to make it a 10-9 affair in the early going.

The Comets found a 6-point surge to build the lead to seven, causing an early timeout by the Bruins shortly after the first five minutes of action. The lead would extend to eight after an Eric Staebler put-back and another bucket from Lindgren to make it 20-12, but the Bruins would fight back.

The game would get tied up at 22 and the Bruins took their first lead in the game after a Jaffery Stillman layup to make things 24-22 in favor Bellevue. The Comets went cold for a bit while Bellevue built their lead to six, but a string of nice plays by Gorg Alhag and Eric Staebler, and a three by Creighton Pfau helped the Comets take a slim 34-33 lead. After an Alhag free throw, Bellevue tied it up at 35 and took the slim lead again after Richard Reed connected on two at the charity stripe.

Bellevue kept the lead for a while until a serious charge of Comet offense helped round out the half. With the Comets down 40 to 43, they went on an 11-0 run with Daymarcco Green, Taylor Delaughter and Garek Droog combining for those eleven points. It was a small snapshot of the balanced scoring attack the Comets would continue to have for the rest of the game, as they finished the half with a 51-43 lead. 

The Bellevue Bruins came out strong to begin the second half, a 3-pointer from Reed brought the Bruins within one quickly with the score at 53-52. Mayville State was able to answer with back-to-back 3-pointers from Creighton Pfau and Cameron Epps to extend their lead back up to seven. 

Gorg Alhag turned things on for the Comets in the second half, a nice drive for a layup from Alhag gave Mayville State a 67-56 lead with just under 13 minutes left. Suffocating defense by Mayville State in the second half forced Bellevue to put up some tough shots and prevented the Bruins from getting anything going.  

Mayville State hit shots down the stretch while Bellevue missed opportunities at the free throw line and turned the ball over regularly. Another 3-pointer from Cameron Epps made it 76-61 with eight and half minutes to play. 

Bellevue's Connor Dukes hit a shot from deep for the Bruins to bring them back within seven with six and half minutes left to play, both teams traded baskets down the stretch and the Comets were fine with melting the clock down in the final minutes. A B.J. Shelton bucket brought the Bruins within seven with 1:07 to play. After a turnover on the inbounds play, Bellevue's Jalen Hall hit two free throws to bring them within five.

Bellevue was forced to foul Mayville State in the final minute of play and hoped for missed free throws, the Comets were able to convert clutch free throws and keep their lead down the stretch, winning 97-92 in the semifinal upset over the #1 seed in the North Star Postseason Tournament. 

Head Coach Darren Tighe has been thrilled with how his team has come together late in the season. "Team - it's all about team with this group. We played our hearts out and we did it together, 20 assists in the biggest game of the year is amazing!" 

The Comets were led by Daniel Lindgren with 19 points, followed by a solid 18 from Cameron Epps. Gorg Alhag put in 16, while Creighton Pfau finished with eleven and Eric Staebler with ten. Staebler and Alhag led the Comets on the boards with six rebounds each. Pfau had three blocks, while Daymarcco Green had three steals.

For the Bruins, they had two players with 23 each, Richard Reed and B.J. Shelton, Reed was a perfect 3-3 on three pointers. Jalen Hall had 15, while Nick Hilton had eleven. 

As a team, the Comets forced 16 turnovers and turned them into 22 of their 97 points. The bench came up huge for Mayville State on Sunday, getting 48 points compared to just 16 by the Bruins. The Comets passed the ball effectively, with 20 team assists, Gorg Alhag having eight to lead the team. 

The Comets (17-10) will advance to the NSAA Championship game as the #5 seed and play against the #3 seed Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who beat Viterbo earlier in the day to earn their spot. The game will be played at Bellevue on Monday at 7:00 pm. The winner of the NSAA Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.