Comets turn cold vs. NB

Courtesy of the Chinook Observer
NHS boys lose 7th game in a row
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent

DAMIAN MULINIX photoNaselle’s Nathan Sultemeier has the ball stripped away by Hyak defender Charlie Capoeman Friday night. The Comets boys had a healthy lead with five minutes to play, but saw their lead slip away.

NASELLE - This game appeared to have the look of the biggest turn-around of the season. A week and a half ago, the Naselle Comets lost to the North Beach Hyaks by 22 points in a game where the Hyaks led all the way. In this rematch, played Friday, Jan 12, in Lyle Patterson Gym, the Comets shot to a 10-point lead with a little over four minutes left in the game. All they had to do for the win was to continue playing, especially as they had played in the previous three minutes when they had built their biggest lead with a 12-0 run. The problem was that someone forgot to tell them .Leading 55-45, Naselle suddenly became tentative and had trouble handling the ball and making shots. Turnovers, many of them unforced, suddenly found the Comets scrambling to try and hold their lead. The Hyaks went on a 17-1 run in three and a half minutes to take a six-point lead with 45 seconds to play. The Comets were able to match the Hyaks' four points in the remaining seconds but that was not enough to prevent North Beach from completing a 21-5 run and winning the Pacific League game 66-60. Naselle's record dropped to 2-5 in league, 4-9 overall. The Hyaks climbed to 5-2 in league, 8-4 overall.The last time that these two teams played, Kyle Burkhalter had done most of Naselle's heavy scoring. This time, Kyle again led all scorers with 21 points, but he got double digit help from brother Austin with 14 and Gabe See with 10 points. The Hyaks again had the same four players score in double digits, Sam Johnson 17, Jordan Fry 13, Ryan Cariker 12 and Jamal Lind 11.Before the Comets' self-destruction, the game had seen seven ties and nine lead changes. The Hyaks largest lead, of seven points, came in the second quarter after Naselle had trouble scoring in the early going. The Comets trailed 10-5 after one quarter when their shots were not going in.Reserve players See and Casey Heagy revived the Comets' offense with six and four points respectively as well as with key rebounds, steals and assists as Naselle fought back in the second stanza. The Comets' late first half run more than matched the Johnson and Fry-led Hyaks earlier surge. Nasell out-scored the Hyaks 19-13 in the quarter and went in at the half leading 24-23.Naselle opened the second half with renewed energy as Kyle's offensive rebound put-back got them started on a small run. Austin got a four-point play on a trey plus the free throw and Spencer Griss popped in a three-ball. The result was a Naselle five-point lead two minutes into the second half. The one negative was that Conor Smith had picked up his fourth foul only 30 seconds into the half and had to go to the bench. With Kyle working hard to score 10 points in the quarter, the Comets were able to hold on with a 19-18 quarter and a 43-41 lead after three.It hadn't been easy as the North Beach "Beef Trust" was beginning to make its presence felt both defensively and offensively. The North Beach front line goes 6-foot 3-inch, 255 lbs. (Cariker), 6-foot 3-inch, 225 lbs. (Fry) and 6-foot 4-inch, 185 lbs. (Johnson) with another 6-foot 2-inch, 210 pounder in reserve. Every time that Kyle got the ball in the paint, two and often three, of those linebacker-types would collapse in on him. As a result, Kyle was not only to lead the Comets in scoring but also in assists (six) as he passed off to his open teammates. That Hyaks' defense and bull-dozing scoring led by Cariker allowed the Hyaks to re-take the lead. However a 6-0 Naselle run, with all of the points coming from the Burkhalter brothers, had given the Comets their third quarter lead.Giving up four quick points for a Hyaks lead to open the fourth period, Naselle then went on a streak that had the appearance of a possible Naselle win. The 12-0 run was started by two points from Austin and saw six points from Kyle and four points from See. In a little less than three minutes, the Comets run had given them a 55-45 lead with a little over four minutes left.Just as quickly as they had earned it, Naselle began to give it away, literally, as turnovers became the order of the day. The Cariker and Fry-led frontal assault force bulldozed its way to rebounds, points in the paint and free throws until the Hyaks tied the score at 56 on a Charlie Capoeman trey. They then took the lead at 58-56 on a Fry break-away with a little over a minute left. The North Beach blitzkrieg had produced a 17-1 run in three and a half minutes. Cariker and Johnson then each went 2-for-2 at the line and the Comets were toast.Nate Sultemeier drained a three-ball to finally break the Hyaks run and bring the Comets within three points with 34 ticks left on the clock. But the Hyaks were to make four of their last six free throws in the remaining time while the Comets could only respond with one of two freebies from Sultemeier to complete a 21-5 Hyaks' run. The result was the Comets' seventh straight loss, by a score of 66-60.Pin-pointing the reason for the loss, Naselle Coach Brian Macy said, "We turned the ball over a lot and missed a lot of free throws. We started playing tentative and couldn't make our shots. (The Comets were one-of-four on free throws inside the last minute.)"Macy continued, "These were two games (Ocosta and North Beach) we should have won but failed to close. We just got real tentative at the end of both games, which leads to missed shots, turnovers and poor decision making. These are games we need to learn from, if we do it will only make us a better team. I really feel like we are ready to break out and unload on some team. It would be nice if it happens quickly."On the bright side, I have been very pleased with the play of Gabe See off the bench and against North Beach he played very well. He gave us solid minutes both defensively and offensively."The Comets hope to get back on the winning track this Thursday, Jan. 18, when they entertain the resurgent Raymond Seagulls, 62-52 winners over South Bend in their last Friday's game and on Saturday, Jan. 20, when they host the high-flying Northwest Christian Navigators, 67-53 winners over Ocosta in their last game. The Saturday menu of basketball will start at noon with the boys c-squad, followed by the girls JVs, the boys JVs, the girls varsity and the boys varsity, all playing Northwest Christians in Lyle Patterson Gym.

NB 10 13 18 25 - 66
Naselle 5 19 19 17 - 60

NORTH BEACH - Sam Johnson 17, Jordan Fry 13, Ryan Caricker 12, Jamal Lind 11, Capoeman 5, Thornton 4, Alfaro 2, Fitts 2;

FG - 25 of 51 for 49 percent,
3's - 2,
FT - 14 of 21;
Rebounds (30);
Assists: Capoeman 7

NASELLE - Kyle Burkhalter 21, Austin Burkhalter 14, Gabe See 10, Griss 5, Sultemeier 4, Heagy 4, Hines 2, Smith;

FG(2s) - 19 of 46 for 42 percent,
3's - 4 of 14 for 29 percent,
FT - 10 of 14;
Rebounds (30): A. Burkhalter 9, K. Burkhalter 8, See 5;
Assists: K. Burkhalter 6

JVs: North Beach 50,
Naselle 47;

The Naselle C-squad won their game over the Hyaks.