VALLEY CITY, ND – Adversity hits at the hardest of times—and for Darren Tighe's men's basketball team, Friday night was the time of adversity, as the Comets battled back-and-forth with their rivals, Valley City State. The Comets used a 43-point second half to lift themselves to a win, 84-70 in North Star Athletic Association play at Valley City.
"We were hit with some heavy adversity a couple of times," Tighe said. "I really liked how we fought back."
Logan Nelson pulled Valley City out to their first lead early, as he drained a bucket after stealing a Iker Cruz rush down the court. But, the Comets had built a 5-2 lead prior to the Nelson bucket.
It didn't take long, however, for the Comets to roll. Max Cooper, Jalen Valverde and Cruz all combined to push Mayville State to a 19-8 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
Matt Schlottman pulled with Vikings to within five points midway through the first half, but Rene Melendez battled back, only to be countered by Kevin Schramm's three-pointer was as close as Valley City got the rest of the first half, as his bucket with 8:39 to go brought the Vikings within four points.
Valverde andf Latrelle Franklin stepped things up to start the second half, as Valverde's trey with 16:49 to go opened up a seven-point lead to start the second half for the Comets.
Free throws were the name of the game in the second half, as the Comets scored 11 free-throws in the second half.
An 8-0 run with less than four minutes left proved to be the difference maker, as the Comets stretched their lead to seven on a basket by Melendez down low.
Mayville State pulled away in the final minute, again going on an 6-0 run, powered by four points by Franklin.
"It was a hard fought battle," Tighe said. "I'm happy we were just able to make some big plays at the end."
Mayville State was led by Cooper's double-double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds; Melendez, who had 16 points; and Franklin and Valverde with 15 points each.