Mayville, N.D. - The Comets Men's Basketball team looked to sweep their conference weekend with a game against the Waldorf Warriors at the Lewy Lee. A physical battle needed extra time, but the Comets outlasted the Warriors in overtime 85-78.

"I think we were more consistent defensively in how we guarded tonight. We went to a bigger line up and I think it caused them some problems and allowed us to get the win," said head coach Brandon McGruder.

The Warriors scored eight straight points early to jump out to a 13-6 lead. The Comets bounced back behind five points from BJ Woods and reclaimed the lead midway through the half at 19-17. Mayville State expanded their lead with six consecutive points to go ahead 31-25 with just under four minutes left.

This time Waldorf stormed back on a 9-2 rally to go ahead 34-33. A Thomas Gieske triple gave the Comets a 36-34 margin at halftime.

Mayville State connected on seven three pointers to neutralize the seven offensive rebounds the Warriors collected. Gieske (13) and Woods (8) combined for 21 of the Comets 36 points in the first half.

The Comets ripped off an 11-0 rally early in the second half to open up a 51-39 lead. At the nine minute mark, Waldorf turned the tables with an 11-0 run of their own to take the lead at 61-60.

The teams traded the lead, but Waldorf made one of two free throws with seven seconds left to hold a slim 69-67 lead. Juan Carlos Canahaute raced down the court and hit a layup to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Canahuate nailed a three pointer to open the overtime scoring, and the Comets never lost the lead after that.

Fouls plagued the Warriors in the overtime period and Mayville State took full advantage. John White Jr. hit six clutch free throws and the team went 9 for 10 from the charity stripe to hold off Waldorf's upset bid, winning 85-78.

Gieske led all scorers with 28 points and collected his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. White Jr. followed with 17 points, and Jamison Kramer also reached double figures with 13 and added nine boards and two blocks. Canahaute finished with five assists.

"Our bench is the reason why we're having success right now. They just bring a different dynamic to the table. Darren's [Jones] length defensively causes problems, Bolen is a defensive stopper and guy who can guard the 1-5. Strand does so many things that somethings don't show up in the box score that's needed to win games," said McGruder of his players off the bench. 

The win boosts the Comets record to 14-3 and 2-0 in the North Star. Mayville State travels to Valley City to take on the Vikings on Wednesday, January 17^th. Tip off is at 7:30pm.

"We'll need to get back to Comet basketball. We won and didn't necessarily play our best. We'll need to have more consistent effort against Valley City to win," added McGruder.