Box Score Mayville, N.D. - The Comets Men's Basketball team opened the new year with the first of two games against the St. Boniface Les Rouge at the Lewy Lee. Mayville State overwhelmed the visitors on both offense and defense in a 137-36 victory.

"Felt good to be back in the Lewy Lee tonight after break. The guys looked in sync and our bench gave us incredible production scoring 96 points. I was pleased with our defense and forcing 32 turnovers and scoring 57 points off them," said head coach Brandon McGruder.

The Comets opened the game by scoring the first 23 points and held St. Boniface scoreless until the 14:12 mark. Mayville State expanded their lead and finished the first half with a 16-2 run to lead 70-18. The Comets shot a sizzling 63% from the field, assisted on 18 of their 29 field goals and forced 15 turnovers in the first half.

Mayville State did not let up and ripped off an incredible 38-3 rally to open the second half. A Jesse Bergh layup with just under 11 minutes to go put the Comets over the century mark. All 14 Comets saw time in the second half, with 11 of them scoring to cruise to the 137-36 win.

"I think it was a good first showing for Darren tonight. You can tell he has some rust and possibly some nerves but I thought he affected the game on both ends. He had 6 steals and 7 deflections in only 16 minutes," added McGruder.

The Comets excelled in every facet of the game, shooting 62% from the field, out rebounding St. Boniface 60-23 and collecting 35 assists to only eight turnovers.

Darren Jones led five Comets in double figures with 21 and picked up six steals. John Dixon hit eight of his nine field goal attempts for 19 points. Bergh added 17 and three blocks, Thomas Gieske finished with 12 and Nick Michaelson ended with 10 points and eight rebounds. Stevan Garza also grabbed eight boards, and Devin Griffin (9) and BJ Woods (7) combined for 16 assists.

The Comets boost their record to 11-3 with the win. The teams will face off again Sunday afternoon, tip off is at 2:00pm.