Head Coach Darren Tighe's men's basketball team welcomed Northwestern College into the Lewy Lee on Friday night for an early season nonconference matchup. Both teams came in with something to prove, but the Comets were the one able to figure things out in the second half and get the win in the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse, 81-57. 

Things were tight in the beginning of the first half, Northwestern's Grant Demeulenaere hit a bucket to give the Red Raiders a five point advantage early on, but Marin Lisica, Rene Melendez, and Iker Cruz all responded with threes on consecutive possessions to bring the Comets ahead 18-16. From there, both teams were within a few points of each other until an 11-0 run from Mayville State at the end the half put the Comets ahead 41-30 going in to the break. 

The second half saw Coach Tighe's team pounce on the opportunity in front of them. The Comet defense came out strong and didn't let up a point for the first five minutes of the second half. 3-pointers from Jalen Valverde and Simon Ramirez helped build a comfortable 20-point lead for the Comets with eight minutes left in the game. 

The defensive pressure and the ability to take advantage were the big difference for the Comets down the stretch of this win. The Red Raiders struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half and the Comets kept them from scoring minutes at a time to seal the win. 

The Comets brought a balanced attack to the court tonight. Simon Ramirez, Rene Melendez, Latrelle Franklin, and Jalen Valverde led the way. Ramirez put in 16 points to lead all players on the court, Melendez counted for 13, and Franklin and Valverde both added 12. Latrelle Franklin also added seven rebounds and six assists for a nice night on the court. 

The win tonight puts the Comets at 3-1 on the season with another matchup tomorrow night against the #25 team in the NAIA, Dordt College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.