MAYVILLE, ND – A 55-point second half Tuesday night pushed the Mayville State University Comets past the century mark, as the Comets downed Trinity Bible College 101-48 in non-conference action at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse. Tuesday's win wrapped up the non-conference season for the Comets, who sit at 11-2 and are riding a seven-game winning streak into conference play.
 
"We were a little rusty on offense in the first half, coming back from Christmas break," head coach Darren Tighe said. "But I thought we were much better in the second half."
 
Five points by Max Cooper in the first 1:44 pulled Mayville State ahead to a 7-0 lead early in the first half. Latrelle Franklin started his big night with a bang, hitting a three-pointer less than three minutes in. Back-to-back buckets by Malachi Wharry increased the lead to 20-9 later in the first half, with 11:59 to go.
 
But, just over three minutes later, Trinity Bible College cut the lead to seven, the closest they would get the entire contest.
 
The Comets closed the half on a 24-10 run, one which was stopped by Khalil Bolden's three-pointer with four seconds to go in the half, cutting the Comet lead to 46-28.
 
A 12-2 run in the first 4:37 of the second half was paced by a pair of Comet threes—by Simon Ramirez and Rene Melendez. Ramirez's three was one of his five threes on the night. Ramirez was tied with teammate Latrelle Franklin for top scorer with 17 points each.
 
A run of 10 unanswered points gave the Lions a glimpse of hope, as they pulled to within 18 points with just over 14 minutes left in the game, but the Comets came to life, as Cooper and Wharry picked up baskets to push the lead back to 24 points with 13:26 to go. A Bolden basket stopped the momentum momentarily, but then the Comets took over ahead.
 
With the game well in hand, Mayville State ate up nine minutes of clock, extending the lead by going on a 27-0 run, making it 91-42 with four minutes left. In that span, seven different Comets scored, including five points by Wharry. Only six points were scored by the Lions in the final four minutes, both on three-pointers by Ty Messner.
 
Ten Comets figured into the scoring column against the Lions.
 
Leading the Comets were Franklin and Ramirez, who each had 17 points; Cooper with 15; and Wharry with 14 points.
 
Mayville State will now begin the remainder of the North Star Athletic Association conference schedule. The Comets are already 1-0 in conference play, scoring a 96-61 win over the Presentation College Saints on December 7 in Aberdeen. The Comets will host the Waldorf Warriors on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and the Viterbo V-Hawks on Saturday at 5 p.m.