Comets get consolation wins in Astoria holiday tourney

1/3/2008 12:01:00 AM
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent

ASTORIA - The Naselle Comets boys played a good defensive game for the second game in a row, and this time it paid off as the Comets defeated Banks 41-33 in the consolation game of the Vince Dulcich Tournament played in Astoria Saturday afternoon, Dec. 29. In their opening game of the tournament, the Comets had played Astoria in a tight defensive battle only to lose at the final buzzer. This game was different as the Comets took, and held, a small lead and improved their season record to 3-5 in the process.The Comets got double digit scoring from their three front-line players with Conor Smith scoring 14, Kyle Burkhalter 13 and Austin Burkhalter 11 points. Kyle added 13 rebounds for a "lucky-13" double-double. Smith pulled down nine boards to just miss a double-double. Austin contributed three steals to the Naselle defensive effort.Naselle earned an 8-4 first quarter lead and still led by two points at 16-14 at the intermission. The Comets didn't set the court on fire offensively in the second half but they did have their best scoring periods of the game as they worked their way to a 13-11 third quarter advantage to lead by four points going into the final stanza. They then outscored the Braves by four points to earn their eight-point win."That's two good defensive games in a row for us, but we still need to get our offense clicking," Naselle coach Brian Macy said. "But it's nice to know that when our offense is struggling, we're capable of playing good enough defense to keep us in ball games."The Comets now jump into their full schedule of Pacific League games with three league games in the next six days, beginning with a game against Willapa Valley, to be played in the Raymond High School gym, Thursday, Jan. 3.

Naselle (41) - Conor Smith 14, Kyle Burkhalter 13, Austin Burkhalter 11, N. Hines 2, See 1, Sultemeier, Erickson; Rebounds: K. Burkhalter 13, Smith 9; Steals: A. Burkhalter 3

Banks (33) - Rue 13, Bowden 7, Marsh 4, Moore 4, Linehan 4, Criswell 1.