Box Score La Crosse, Wisc. - The Comets Men's Basketball team traveled to Viterbo to battle the V-Hawks on the final weekend of the season. Mayville State staged a furious comeback from 15 points down in the second half but fell just short 76-73.

The Comets took an early 7-4 lead, but Viterbo responded with nine straight points to overtake the Comets at 13-7. The V-Hawks slowly stretched the lead out to as much as 16 and led 45-30 at halftime. Viterbo shot a scorching 66% on their home floor to pace their offense.

Mayville State was unable to muster momentum for any length of time during the second half. The deficit hovered between 11 and 17 points and the Comets trailed 69-54 with five minutes left. Mayville State scored eight straight points to slice the deficit to 69-62. A Viterbo three pointer bumped the lead back up to 10 points with two minutes left.

The Comets then went on a 9-1 run fueled by Juan Carlos Canahuate and Darren Jones to get within a possession at 73-71. '

After a pair of free throws by Viterbo, Jones buried two free throws to stay within two points. Viterbo made 1 of 2 free throws with six seconds to go which gave the Comets a chance to tie, but a Canahuate three was just off the mark.

"We got outplayed in about every way tonight. I was extremely proud of our efforts late and got great contributions fro the bench. We just had a few careless turnovers and too many mental lapses defensively," said head coach Brandon McGruder.

Jones led all scorers with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Canahuate finished with 14 points and five assists, Thomas Gieske reached double figures with 12 points and Jamison Kramer also pulled down seven rebounds.

The Comets record now stands at 19-7, 7-4 in the North Star. Mayville State wraps up the regular season with a crucial game against the Waldorf Warriors. A win would guarantee Mayville State at least a share of the regular season championship! Tip off is at 5:00pm.