Mayville, N.D. - Men's Basketball was back at the Lewy Lee on Wednesday evening to battle the Jamestown Jimmies. The Comets entered the game at 3-1 on the season and the Jimmies at 0-2.

Before last night, the overall record between the two old conference rivals had Jamestown ahead with 18 wins and only 11 losses against the Comets.

The last match up was the Comets' season opener of the 2019-2020 season on October 22^nd where Jamestown won 90-78 at the Jimmies house.

Last night, in a hard-fought contest, Jamestown's shooting from three allowed them to slip away for a 69-66 victory.

Neither team would gain an advantage in the first 10 minutes, as both teams defenses were active. The Comets started to pull away in the final 10 minutes of the half behind seniors Thomas Gieske and Jamison Kramer, finishing the first half up 11 at 37-26.

The Jimmies came out of halftime with nine straight points to trim the Comets lead to two points.

Mayville State was able to hold onto the lead until Jamestown hit a three pointer with just under 10 minutes left to make the score 46-45 Jamestown.

Over the next five minutes, the lead changed hands six times and was tied twice. An 8-2 Jamestown run gave them a 61-56 advantage with 4 minutes left.

With 30 seconds left, Jamestown was ahead 67-60 but fierce Comet pressure resulted in layups by Juan Carlos Canahuate and Stevan Garza to make the score 67-64.

The Jimmies were able to connect on two free throws to ice the game and win 69-66.

The difference in the second half was from the three point line, as Jamestown made 7 of 15 triples while the Comets missed all five of their attempts.

"We let their shooters get hot. That was a focus going into the game and we did a good job not allowing it in the first half. Second half, we came out flat and didn't guar shooters with any urgency," commented head coach Brandon McGruder.

Kramer led the Comets in scoring with 15, and Gieske also reached double figures with 12. Gieske also pulled down eight rebounds and Canahuate finished with six assists.

McGruder added, "We just need to respect the game and value each possession on both ends. We get careless at times and with an experienced team like we have, we can't make those mistakes."

The loss drops the Comets record to 3-2 for the year. Mayville State will be back in action next Wednesday as they head to Bismarck, N.D. for an exhibition game against the University of Mary, tip off is set for 7:00pm.

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