Dickinson, N.D. - The Comets Men's Basketball team traveled out west to take on the Dickinson State Blue Hawks in a conference match up on Saturday. Mayville State could not get on track offensively and fell to the Blue Hawks 79-63.

"They were the hungrier team and played more physical. We were out of character for the majority of the game," said head coach Brandon McGruder.

The teams traded small leads and ties through the first eight minutes of the game, as Thomas Gieske poured in eight of the first 12 Comets points.

The Blue Hawks gained the upper hand as they held Mayville State to only three points in nine minutes to go ahead 29-15. A Jamison Kramer triple at the end of the first half got the Comets to within 10 points at 37-27.

Dickinson jumped out of the gates to open the second half with a 9-2 run to expand the lead to 46-29.

A Juan Carlos Canahuate bucket got the Comets to within 67-55 with four minutes left, but the Blue Hawks went a perfect 10 for 10 from the charity stripe to hold off any last minute Comets comeback to win 79-63.

Gieseke led all scorers with 22 points. Darren Jones came off the bench to contribute 14 points and seven rebounds. Jamison Kramer finished with 12 points and also pulled down eight rebounds. Canahuate reached double figures with 10 points and dished out six assists.

The loss drops the Comets record to 15-4, 3-1 in the North Star. Mayville State heads down to Madison, SD to face the Trojans on Friday, tip off is at 7:30pm.

"We'll have to be more mentally tough than we were tonight. It's a tough environment with a lot on the line and we'll need a great week of practice to try to win two road games next week," added McGruder.