Box Score Bellevue, Neb. – Mayville State Comets Men's Basketball traveled to Nebraska to take on the Bellevue Bruins for their NSAA conference opener Friday night.

In what would come down to the last seconds of the game, the Comets hit a buzzer beater for the 70-69 win over the Bruins.

"I'm proud of the guys maturity and the fact they stuck together late and had no quit in them," said head coach Brandon McGruder. "I think a few months ago things may have been different."

The win would give McGruder his 50th career win as the head coach of the Comets. He is also the fastest head coach to 50 wins in Comets Men's Basketball history. McGruder did it in just 68 games.

"Being able to win and be the fastest to win 50 games in front of my family in my hometown was incredible," said McGruder. "It's a testament to my players both current and former."

How it happened:

1^st Half:

• Mayville gets out to an early 11-3 lead
• Devin Griffin steal results in a Trey Swayer layup to extend their lead 17-6 with 15:30 remaining
• Darren Jones slams down a dunk to make it 19-10
• Bruins player charged with a technical foul, 23-12 Comets with 10:40 remaining
• Jones has 11 points in first 10 minutes
• Bruins go on an 8-0 run to bring the score to 27-29
• Swayzer gets a layup, but Bruins follow up with a three to get within one; 30-31 Comets with 5 minutes remaining
• Bruins tie it up 32-32 with 2 minutes left in the half as the Comets made just 1 of their last 9
• Jeremiah Russel commits a foul to send the Bruins to line and give them the 33-32 lead
• London Williams forces himself inside to take the lead 34-33 with 7 seconds remaining
• The Bruins hit a buzzer beater to head to the locker room ahead 35-34
• In Trey Swayzer's first game back since Nov. 1st, he scores 8 points in the first half
• Bellevue shot 46% and Comets shot 44%

2^nd Half:

• Bruins open the half with a 3 pointer, followed by a lay up to give them a 40-34 lead
• Justin Fisher gets the first Comets points of the second half; 40-36 Bruins 16 minutes remaining
• Bruins led by as much as 8 with 14 minutes left
• J.J. White, Jr. drives to the basket for two to get the Comets back within 4 forcing a Bruins time out
• Swayzer tips in a bucket followed by a White, Jr. lay up gets the Comets within 2
• Swayzer gets an offensive rebound and lays it in to tie the game at 48-48 with 7:40 left in the game
• Tied 51 all 7-minute mark
• Bruins 3 pointer with 6:36 left puts them up 54-51 and forces a Comets time out
• Darren Jones sinks a layup and is fouled, bringing the Comets within one; 58-59 Bruins just under four minutes remaining
• Steven Garza ties it up at 60 with 3 minutes left in the game

The final two minutes:

• At 1:22 the Bruins sink a 3 to go up by 5, 67-62
• Jones lay up brings the Comets within 3, 67-64
• A Bruins offensive rebound off a missed three pointer forces the Comets to foul with 29 seconds left
• Bruins sink both free throws, putting them ahead by five, 69-64
• Cristian Butler sinks a bucket for 2 to put the Comets within three; 69-66 with 11.4 seconds remaining
• Bruins head to the line for a 1-1 opportunity, but miss the first free throw and Trey Swayzer barrels down the court for a quick layup getting Mayville State within one with 5 seconds remaining
• J.J. White, Jr. picks off the ball in the inbound play and passes to Trey Swayzer who sinks a lay up at the buzzer to get the win

Team Leaders:

- Trey Swayzer led the way with 20 points and 4 rebounds, he was 10-14 from the field
- Darren Jones followed with a double-double scoring 16 points and snagging 11 rebounds 
- J.J. White, Jr. had 14 points and 2 rebounds
- London Williams had 8 points and 8 rebounds

Overall:
 
- 29-63 from the field (46%)
- 0-4 from behind the arc
- 22 bench points
- 54 points in the paint 

"We've been waiting for Trey's return for quite some time. He reminds me a lot of Thomas Gieske in the sense he cleans up things on the offensive glass and scores with great off ball movement," said McGruder.

The Comets will have another NSAA conference game tomorrow as they head to Madison, SD to take on the Dakota State Trojans. Tip off is set for 5:00pm.

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