For the third straight season, the Men's Basketball team won the NSAA Conference Tournament defeating the Waldorf Warriors by a final score of 65-62. Four Comets finished in double figures—with one finishing with a double-double. Melendez led the way for the Comets with 17 points, followed by Valverde's 15. Franklin finished with 14 points, and Cooper had the lone Comet double-double, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds for the victorious Comets. Click this link to rewatch the Championship game from Watertown, South Dakota.

WATERTOWN, SD – Three years. Three championships.
For the third straight season, Mayville State's men's basketball team advances to the NAIA National Tournament, after a 65-62 win over the Waldorf Warriors in the North Star Athletic Association tournament championship on Sunday evening at the Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D. The Comets have gone to all three national tournaments under head coach Darren Tighe.
The Comets shot hot in the early goings, as they took an 11-2 lead on a pair of three pointers, one by Rene Melendez, just 47 seconds into the game, and another just over two minutes in by Latrelle Franklin, and a Max Cooper put back. With 16:26 left, the run ended as Jalen Valverde sunk the third Comet three-pointer in four minutes.
Waldorf's Demetrius Martin went on a 5-0 run to pull Waldorf within four points, a run stopped by Tobyn Lawson of Mayville State.
Martin's hot shooting continued through the middle stages of the first half, with the lead diminishing to one point with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
Martin eventually tied the game at 19-19 with 6:46 to go in the half, a score that would stay for a short time—when Rene Melendez nailed another three-pointer, giving Mayville State a three-point lead with 5:53 to go.
Brady Kuchinka, who proved to be a thorn in the Comets' side, pulled Waldorf to within one point with under five minutes to go, but Valverde stood tall, nailing a three-pointer, giving the Comets a 25-21 lead.
Free-throws by Waldorf pulled the Warriors to within three points with under two minutes left, but Melendez took the Comets into the halftime break with a six-point lead with a critical three-pointer with 1:22 left.
The Comets came out firing after the halftime break, pulling ahead by 10 points in the first 36 seconds, with Iker Cruz and Valverde hitting back-to-back buckets.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Thomas Gieske extended the Comet lead to 14 points.
Mayville state held a double-digit lead until late in the contest, when Waldorf pulled to within nine points on Martin's bucket with 5:08 to go in the game. Gabriel Munoz pulled the Warriors even closer, but Franklin's three-pointer shut the door with 4:16 to go.
With 1:18 to go, Quincy Minor, Jr., pulled Waldorf to within seven points, but the Comets responded with a three by Melendez with 50 seconds left.
A three by Melvin Martin, with 20 seconds left, put the Comets win in jeopardy, as it pulled Waldorf to within six points. Even moreso, Munoz pulled Waldorf to within four points, but the Comets had back-to-back free throws, which put the lead back to six—a comfortable margin.
Munoz's last-second three-pointer wasn't enough to overcome the Comets.
Four Comets finished in double figures—with one finishing with a double-double. Melendez led the way for the Comets with 17 points, followed by Valverde's 15. Franklin finished with 14 points, and Cooper had the lone Comet double-double, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds for the victorious Comets.
With Sunday's championship, the Comets receive the automatic bid for the NAIA National Tournament, which begins March 11 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Comets will find out their opponent and when they play on Wednesday at 5 p.m.