Sioux City, Iowa - Mayville State University Comets Men's Basketball ended their 3 game road trip in Iowa on Monday night in what would be an offensive thriller against the Briar Cliff Chargers.

The Comets were able to make a late push and take down the Chargers in overtime, 112-104.

"It was a very gritty performance last night by our guys," said head coach Brandon McGruder. "It was not pretty but we matured as the game progressed and that's a huge step for us. We weathered the storm and bought in defensively late."

Despite the Comets shooting 51% from the field and 60% from behind the arc, the Chargers would lead 54-42 heading into the locker room at half.

With 7 minutes remaining in the second half, the Comets trailed by as much as 14. 

The Comets cut their deficit to 2 when John White, Jr. nailed his 6th three pointer of the night, making the score 91-93 Chargers.

Darren Jones was be able to tie things up with 1:21 remaining on the clock and we would enter overtime knotted 95-95.

The Comets would remain in control most of overtime, outscoring the Chargers 17-9 and taking the game 112-104.

Jones had his second double double of the season, scoring a season and career high 31 points and snagging a season high 12 rebounds. He was 13 for 18 from the field and added 3 steals to the night.

John White, Jr. had a season high 23 points. He nailed a season high seven 3 pointers. He also had 2 steals.

"As good as those two [White, Jr. & Jones] played offensively, I thought it was their defensive efforts that won us the game. Jonesy affects the game in so many ways defensively and JJ has presented himself as one of the best defenders in the country," said McGruder.

Cristian Butler, a redshirt junior, had a season and career high 20 points.

"JJ and Jonesy's stat line will stand out, but I am very proud of Cristian's contributions off the bench," said McGruder. "He's worked his tail off and after not playing in a few games, he embraced his opportunity and took full advantage."

Team Stats:
Points in the paint: 54
Bench points: 55
FG%: 61% (42-69)
3pt %: 65% (13-20)

"We showed glimpses of how good we can be, but we have a long ways to go," added McGruder.

The Comets return back to the Lewy Lee this Friday and Saturday as they host Canadian Mennonite both days. Tip off Friday is set for 7:00pm & Saturday's game is scheduled for 1:00pm.

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