Naselle boys stay red hot

1/16/2008
Comets win fifth game in a row
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent

OYEHUT - The first time that these two teams met almost a month ago in their opening Pacific League game of the season, the Naselle Comets suffered through a poor third quarter falling to the North Beach Hyaks by 12 points. The Comets were also handicapped by injuries and illness to two key players at that time. Since then, the Comets have regrouped and reeled off five straight wins.The Comets broke open a tight game in the fourth period Friday night with a "shut-the-door" defensive effort in the final eight minutes for a 59-46 win over the Hyaks. With the win, the Comets league record climbed to 5-2 and 7-5 overall.An elated coach Brian Macy said, "We held them (the Hyaks) without a field goal for longer than six minutes in the fourth quarter. (Sam) Johnson hit two three's with under a minute left, and one of their two fourth quarter free throws occurred in that last minute, so they had one point in the fourth until then. "At half we talked about stepping up and playing with confidence. We played real tentative in the first half and didn't look sharp. The boys took the challenge and stepped up. We have been playing good defense lately, but in the fourth quarter we took it to another level. It was a great way to finish the game."In contrast to the two teams first game where the Hyaks had four double digit scorers, including Russell Alfaro with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Alfaro did not score in this game as the Naselle "D" took charge in the late going. The Comets held a slight lead at 12-10 after the first quarter. They lost that lead as the Hyaks won the second period battle 16-13 to go in at the break with a 26-25 lead. The teams then battled through an even 12-12 third quarter to set up the decisive final eight minutes where the Comets ripped off a 22-8 advantage.The Comets now enter a critical portion of their schedule with three successive league games played away from their home court. Those games include a game with one of the current league leaders, Northwest Christian on Saturday, the 19th. The Comets follow that up with four of their last five games to be played at home, including a re-scheduled non-league make-up game with Seaside on Monday, January 28. The Comets final two regular season games are with two of the league's top teams, Tacoma Baptist away and the final regular season game with Northwest Christian at home.

Naselle 12 13 12 22 - 59
N. Beach 10 16 12 8 - 46

Naselle (59) -- Austin Burkhalter 17, Kyle Burkhalter 13, Conor Smith 12, Erickson 6, N. Hines 5, See 2, Sultemeier 2, Mendoza 2, Macy;

FG - 23-57 (40%),
FT - 9-13 (69%);
Rebounds: A. Burkhalter 7, K. Burkhalter 7, Erickson 6;
Assists: Smith 3

North Beach (46) -- Sam Johnson 18, Jordan Fry 11, Jamal Lind 10, Rae 5, Hope 2, Capoeman, Alfaro