Comets hard times continue, lose two more

Courtesy of The Chinook Observer
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent
NASELLE - They needed this one - badly. But you can't make more turnovers than a Danish bakery and expect to win. In the end, 26 turnovers and fouls were too much to overcome and the Naselle Comets lost a Pacific League game to the Ocosta Wildcats 59-57 in Naselle's Lyle Patterson Gym Monday, Jan. 22.This loss may come back to haunt the Comets, who are locked in a battle for one of the last three league berths in the district tournament and Ocosta now has the inside track for fourth place, if not higher. Ocosta has defeated the Comets in both of their head-to-head meetings. South Bend is one of the other teams that has a head-to-head advantage over the Comets, making their return game this Thursday, Feb 1 of extreme importance. If the Comets should lose their next two games, either Tacoma Baptist, which will entertain Naselle on Feb. 3, or Raymond could move past the Comets for the final district slot.The Ocosta game was a battle between a team with two high scorers, Naselle, and a team with five scorers, Ocosta. The Burkhalter brothers, Austin with 23 points and Kyle with 21, scored 77 percent of the Comets points in leading all scorers. But the Wildcats had three players in double figures.The Comets opened the game with a 15-12 first quarter but then fell behind with a 11-4 second period to trail 19-23 at the break. The Wildcats maintained the pressure on the Comets with a 16-15 third quarter advantage and entered the final eight minutes leading 39-34. With the Comets losing Kyle to fouls in the closing minutes of the game, and turnovers continuing to bother them plus Ocosta cashing in at the foul line, the home team couldn't quite make up the difference. Naselle's 23-20 fourth quarter brought them close, but the Wildcats still went home with their two-point win.Three Wildcats players scored in double figures as they withstood a spectacular long-range shooting exhibition by Austin. He hit four three-point shots in the second half - three in the fourth quarter - to rally the Comets. But the Wildcats, who led by between five and eight points for much of the second half, hit 14 of 21 foul shots in the final period to maintain the edge. Kevin Spivey's free throw with 11 seconds left gave the Wildcats an insurmountable four-point lead.

OCOSTA (59) - Jack Stein 18, Kevin Spivey 14, Colby Rasselson 12, Quinby 9, Forbis 6, Colburn, Barnes; 2.
FG - 21-51 (.412),
FT - 16-28; Rebounds: Stein 12;
Assists: Colburn 7

NASELLE (57) - Austin Burkhalter 23, Kyle Burkhalter 21, Smith 6, Heagy 5, Griss 2, Sultemeier, See, Hines;
FG - 21-54 (.388),
FT - 8-9; Rebounds: K. Burkhalter 8, A. Burkhalter 6;
Turnovers (26)