Naselle boys basketballComets shore up playoff berth with win over S. Bend

Courtesy of The Chinook Observer
NASELLE - It wasn't always pretty, but the results were beautiful as far as the Naselle Comets boys' basketball team and their fans were concerned.

DAMIAN MULINIX photo

Fans in the Naselle student section jump to their feet to clap and cheer for the Comets as they score a bucket late in Thursday game.

The Comets 61-53 Pacific League win over South Bend Thursday, Feb. 1 in Lyle Patterson Gym assured the Comets of a spot in the District 4 Class 2B Boys' Basketball Tournament. The Comets' league record improved to 5-7 and 7-11 overall with the win.The Comets are now in a tie with South Bend for the fifth position in league. Naselle's final two games are on the road at Tacoma Baptist and at Northwest Christian.When these two teams met earlier in the season, the Comets gave up a third quarter lead to lose at South Bend by seven points. Randy Eang, South Bend's top scorer for the season, poured in 27 points in that game. This time around, Eang was held to just six points by the defensive efforts of Kyle Burkhalter and Spencer Griss. Naselle coach Brian Macy said, "That was probably his (Griss's) best performance of the year. "Eang and Brian Yi each got into foul trouble and had to sit for extended periods in the third quarter before they each fouled out in the closing minutes of the game.Foul problems were also a major concern to the Comets as their leading scorers, Kyle Burkhalter and Conor Smith, also got into early foul trouble. Kyle, who led the Comets with 25 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and three steals, picked up his second foul early in the second quarter and he sat for more than half of the second period. Smith, who also experienced foul troubles, came back with a vengeance in the fourth period to score nine of his 11 game points as well as grab six rebounds in the game.With Austin Burkhalter draining a three-ball from the corner, the Comets were off to a 11-0 lead in the first five and a half minutes of the game. South Bend finally got their scoring going when Chase Michell scored the first four of his 17 points on the night. The Comets led 14-6 after one quarter.Nathan Sultemeier hit on a three-ball and a deuce as the second quarter opened to stretch the Naselle lead to 10 points. But back came South Bend, especially with Michell, Shaun Rose (16 game points, 9 rebounds) and Yi (10 points) filling the hoop, South Bend went on a 10-0 run in four minutes. The South Bend run had given them the lead at 20-19, their only lead of the game as it turned out, before Naselle rallied back to a five point lead. South Bend wasn't to be denied, however, and they used three free throws to forge a 27-27 tie in the closing seconds of the first half.The third quarter opened with a well-rested Kyle who quickly scored the first five points of the half. "We switched things up and moved Kyle to the point, and he was able to create and get to the free-throw line," Macy said. Kyle was to score seven points in the quarter while Griss was to pop in five, including a three-point play to close the period to give Naselle a 41-36 leadWith Yi and Eang returning to the floor for the fourth period, South Bend narrowed the Comets' lead to three points before Smith took over. He scored seven of the Comets next nine points as the Naselle lead stretched to eight points. South Bend was able to peck away at that lead and get it down to four points twice. But each time, points from Kyle, Austin and Smith more than matched the output of South Bend and the Comets had their 61-53 win .The evening was also Senior Night for cheerleader Sandra Rodriguez and varsity players Casey Heagy, Jeremy Ray and Spencer Griss.

SOUTH BEND (53) - Chase Michell 17, Shaun Rose 16, Brian Yi 10, Eang 6, Huber 2, Dokter 2, Lazelle, Howard, Wetterauer;

FG - 18-63 (.286).
FT - 15-21;
Rebounds (30); Michell 9, Rose 9

NASELLE (61) - Kyle Burkhalter 25, Conor Smith 11, Sultemeier 8, Griss 7, Austin Burkhalter 5, Heagy 5, See, Hines, Ray, Erickson;

FG (2's) - 17 of 33 for 52 percent,
(3's) - 3 of 12 for 25 percent,
FT - 18 of 26 for 69 percent;
Rebounds (41): K. Burkhalter 12, Sultemeier 7, Griss 6, Smith 6;
Assists: K. Burkhalter 8, Heagy 3;
Steals: K. Burkhalter 3;
Team Turnovers (24)

South Bend 6 21 9 17 -- 53
Naselle 14 13 14 20 -- 61

South Bend won the JV game 53-41.