Orange City, Iowa - Mayville State Comets Men's Basketball hit the road to participate in the Pizza Ranch Classic hosted by Northwestern College (IA) in Orange City this weekend.

The trip would be no easy one for the Comets, as they faced two nationally recognized GPAC opponents. 

On Friday they faced off against the Dordt University Defenders who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Despite outscoring them in the second half, the Comets fell 85-95.

With a quick turnover, Mayville State took on the No. 15 ranked Northwestern College Raiders Saturday afternoon. The Raiders' offense would be too much for the Comets and they would fall 78-120.

"It's not the end of the world. It's very early in the season and two years ago we were in the same boat," said head coach Brandon McGruder. "Last year we lost to three GPAC schools to start the season then we went on a twelve game win streak."

Friday vs. Dordt L - 85-95

In the first half, the Comets were just 13-33 from the field, the Defenders were 21-34 and would enter the half leading 48-34.

Coming out of the locker room, the Comets intended to turn up the offense and they did just that.

They outscored Dordt 51-47 and they shot 20-38 from the field.

Unfortunately, the Defenders would be able to hold off Mayville State and remain undefeated.

Justin Fisher had a triple double, putting up 11 points, 11 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds.

London Williams was close to a double double, putting up 10 points and snagging 9 rebounds.
                                        
Darren Jones had 20 points and 6 rebounds. John White, Jr. followed behind with 15 points. 

Team Stats:
Second Chance Points - 13
Fast Break Points - 8
Points in the Paint - 48
Bench Points 45

Saturday vs. NWC L 78-120

The Raiders were dominant in both halves, scoring 60 in the first and 60 in the second. 

The Comets struggled to find any momentum offensively or defensively, scoring just 37 in the first half and 41 one in the second.

Justin Fisher led the Comets, scoring 17 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and having 4 assists. The Comets had just 9 assists all night.

Cristian Butler put up 15 points, had 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

11 different Comets made at least one bucket and the Comets continued to see strong efforts from their bench as they would be responsible for 42 of their points.

Team Stats:
Second Chance Points - 6
Fast Break Points - 4
Points in the Paint: 28
Bench Points: 42

"I was upset with a variety of things but mainly our lack of discipline," said a frustrated McGruder. "When things got tough we focused on ourselves. Only nine assists tells you all you need to know. These loses hopefully taught us a lot about ourselves; we have to get over ourselves and unite as one."

Mayville State will continue their 3 game road trip and head to Briar Cliff University (Iowa) Monday. Tip off against the Chargers will be at 6:00pm in Sioux City, Iowa. 

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