MAYVILLE, ND – Less than a week after falling to Dickinson State University at Scott Gymnasium in Dickinson, the Comets welcomed the Blue Hawks to the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse on Friday in a North Star Athletic Association tilt. A 45-point output in the first half pushed Mayville State past the Blue Hawks, 84-69, in conference action Friday night.

"It was a great turnaround game for the guys," Comets head coach Darren Tighe said. "They had a great week of practice and came in really focused and ready to play."

Montel Carlow gave the Blue Hawks the early 3-2 advantage with a three-pointer just 2:11 into the contest, less than 30 seconds after Max Cooper opened the scoring for the Comets. Carlow's bucket sparked a 7-0 run that saw the Comets take an early deficit 7-2, before Cooper got the Comets back on the board 3:29 into the first half.

Rene Melendez pulled the Comets to within two points just seconds later, but Dickinson State's Malcohm Hill answered back with back-to-back buckets, extending the lead to 12-6 with 16:04 to go in the half. Mayville State eventually took the lead, as Cooper and Latrelle Franklin teamed up for a pair of buckets, capped off by Melendez's three-pointer with 15:16 to go in the half, giving Mayville State the one-point advantage.

Hill, Donte Walker and Jalon Tinnin each had buckets, encompassing a 6-0 run that gave the Blue Hawks a 19-13 lead with 12:06 to go in the first half. Mayville State kept chipping away at the lead, but Dickinson State eventually pulled ahead by two. That's when the tides turned.

With 9:11 left, Simon Ramirez hit the first of back-to-back Comet three-pointers, giving Mayville State the lead 24-23. Nine seconds later, Thomas Gieske hit a three-pointer, extending the lead 27-23. The score would remain 27-23 until the 7:55 mark, when Dickinson State's Kenny Jackson hit a bucket, making it a two-point ballgame with just under eight minutes to go in the first half. Gieske again struck gold, nailing a three-pointer with seven-and-a-half minutes left in the half, extending the lead to five points.

Carlow pulled the lead back to within three points with under four-and-half minutes left in the first half of play, only to see the Comets extend the lead to seven just minutes later.Ajdin Toskic's three-pointer with one second left in the half closed the Mayville State lead to 45-40.

One minute into the second half, Walker cut the lead to one point. But, Cooper was able to answer back exactly one minute later, extending the lead to three. Eventually, Walker tied the game at 49-49, but Mayville State began to run away after that. A 14-0 run by the Comets, spanning over five minutes, put the Comets ahead 63-49, a lead Mayville State would never relinquish over the remaining minutes of Friday night's contest.

Three Comets finished in double-figures, led by Cooper's 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. Gieske finished with 18 points, including a 75 percent clip from the three-point line. Franklin shot a blistering 50 percent from the field and a perfect four-of-four from the free-throw line, finishing with 17 points for the Comets.

Lots of guys stepped up at key moments," Tighe said. "It was a great team win."

Mayville State will host Valley City State on Saturday at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.