MAYVILLE, ND – Sunday's performance for the Comets was a repeat offensively from Saturday. The Comets used a 68-point second half to dominate the Providence University College Pilots, 112-65, in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse in Mayville. Sunday's win was Mayville State's second in a row, giving the Comets a 2-1 record heading into a crucial non-conference schedule.
"You want to see little improvements each day," head coach Darren Tighe said. "I think we saw that. For a lot of these guys, this is their first back-to-back ever."
The Comets and Pilots traded buckets for the first three-and-a-half minutes, before Mayville State broke things open.
Jalen Valverde's three with 16:43 to go in the first half was the start of a run by the Comets.
Defensively, the Comets held Providence off the board for the better part of three minutes, building a 13-6 lead.
Simon Ramirez was on fire in the first half, accounting for several Mayville State buckets in the late goings of the half. But it was Rene Melendez's three-point basket with 5:47 to go in the half that blew the game open, 38-16.
Latrelle Franklin also came up big in the first half, both offensively and defensively.
But, as the second half went on, Franklin stepped up his game offensively.
Dominic Schuster provided the Comets energy in the second half, including back-to-back buckets late to put the Comets past the century mark.
Kentry Bynum also dominated in the closing minutes, scoring four points in less than a minute, including two crucial free-throws with just over a minute left.
Christian Kuntz, for the second game in a row, came up big with five points to end the ballgame, including a three-pointer with 48 seconds left in the contest.
One of Mayville State's concerns coming in was holding Jordan Lawson down in scoring, and the Comets did so.
"For a good player like he is, 22 points on 19 shots is not bad," Tighe said.
Six Comets finished in double figures.
"We shared it pretty good," Tighe said. "I love the pace we're playing now, just pushing and flying around. We work as hard, if not harder, as anyone in the fall."
The Comets were led by Franklin, who had 23 points; Valverde, 17; Ramirez, 15; Melendez, 14; Schuster, 11; and Tobyn Lawson, 10.
The Comets shot a blistering 55-point-6 percent from the field, including 42-point-9 percent from behind the arc. They were also 23-of-27 from the free-throw line.
Mayville State (2-1) will take on Northwestern, Dordt College and NDSU all in the first seven days of November.
"This stretch has to be as tough as any in the NAIA," Tighe said. "But we're gonna play the best so we're ready for the NAIA."