Seward, Neb. - Comets men's basketball  finished up the Cattle Classic on Saturday against the Hastings Broncos. A slow start put Mayville State in a hole, but the Comets rallied later in the first half and led the entire second half in a 69-57 victory.

Bouncing back after a late game against Concordia the night before, each coach Brandon McGruder said, "I think we did a lot better defensively guarding their actions. Our attention to detail was a lot better today."

The Comets offense could not get untracked in the early going as the first four minutes saw the Broncos take an 8-2 lead. Mayville State then ripped off a 10-1 run, as a John White Jr. triple gave the Comets their first lead of the game 12-9.

The Comets maintained a slim lead until the seven minute mark, Jamison Kramer scored six of eight straight points by Mayville State to boost the lead to 26-17.

The Broncos clawed back to within four at halftime, with the Comets leading 30-26. White Jr., Kramer and Thomas Gieske each chipped in eight points to lead the Comets offense.

The second half started evenly, with both teams trading baskets. Consecutive three pointers by White Jr. bumped the Comets lead to 50-41 with 12:37 remaining.

After that the Broncos never got closer than six points. Mayville State hit some clutch free throws towards the end of the game to keep the lead in double digits, and managed to salvage a split on the weekend games with a 69-57 win.

"I think it was a shared responsibility amongst everyone from the guys on the court to the guys on the bench. Everyone was engaged," commented McGruder.

Gieske led all scorers with 22 points and also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Comets in that category. White Jr. knocked down four treys as part of his 14 points, Juan Carlos Canahuate added 14 points and four assists, and Kramer finished with 12 points and blocked two shots.

Four games into the season McGruder commented about the chemistry that is building. "We're clicking more and more everyday. It helps having guys that played for me previously and the returners are building chemistry daily. We have aw ays to go, but I like our progress thus far."

The Comets record now stands at 3-1. Mayville State hosts the Jamestown Jimmies on Wednesday, November 8^th, tip off is at 7:30pm.

For full schedule details visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule