Comets can't claw back

Courtesy of The Daily News
NASELLE ---- The never-say-die Naselle Comets rallied from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to make it a four-point game at halftime, but couldn't quite complete the comeback and fell to Willapa Valley 74-64 in a Pacific 2B League boys basketball game Thursday.Brady Langer scored a game-high 36 points for the Vikings, who outscored the Comets 24-11 in the third period to take command."We fought so hard to come back in the first half. They led 26-11 and we really played hard to make it 36-32 at halftime," Naselle coach Brian Macy said. "I just think we had a letdown in the third quarter."Willapa Valley began the third with a 10-0 run.Brothers Austin and Kyle Burkhalter led the Comets (4-6, 2-2 league) with 27 and 21 points, respectively, and both grabbed eight rebounds. Austin Burkhalter, a freshman, made 5-of-10 from 3-point territory.

WILLAPA VALLEY (74) -- Langer 36, Mayfield 2, Barrett 0, Bannish 13, Lundy 0, LeClair 2, Johnson 0, Anderson 15, King 0, Colburn 6, Landrom 0.

NASELLE (64) -- Nathan Sultemeier 6, Spencer Griss 0, Kyle Burkhalter 21, Austin Burkhalter 27, Conor Smith 0, Casey Heagy 2, Nick Hines 3, Gabe See 3, Alan Erickson 0.

Valley 16 20 24 14 -- 74
Naselle 11 21 11 21 -- 64

Saari soars for Comets

Courtesy of Daily News

MENLO ---- Erin Saari posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds as Naselle rallied in the second half for a 50-46 victory over Willapa Valley in a Pacific 2B League girls basketball game Wednesday.The Comets (5-4, 2-1 league) amassed 47 team rebounds.Naselle trailed 21-17 at halftime, then switched from a zone defense to a man-to-man midway through the third quarter. The Comets outscored the Vikings 33-25 in the second half.Brandi Keightley added 12 points, while Sheryl Steppe (seven points, 13 rebounds) and Ashley Ahlstrom (six points, 15 rebounds) dominated Willapa Valley on the boards.

NASELLE (50) -- Erin Saari 22, Brandi Keightley 12, Cheryl Steppe 7, Ashley Ahlstrom 6, Kellyn Pakenen 3, Kelsey Fletcher 0, Jenny Klinger 0.

WILLAPA VALLEY (46) -- Freese 15, Rohr 15, Dickey 10, Crose 4, Millican 2.

Naselle 8 9 18 15 -- 50
Valley 4 17 14 11 -- 46

Burkhalter stars in loss

Courtesy of Daily News

OCEAN SHORES ---- Kyle Burkhalter poured in 29 points for Naselle, but it wasn't enough as the Comets fell to North Beach 72-50 on Wednesday in a Pacific 2B League boys basketball game."We got out-rebounded and out-hustled," Naselle coach Brian Macy said.The Comets are now 4-5, 2-1 in league.Hyaks 72, Comets 50 NASELLE (50) -- Nathan Sultemeier 1, Spencer Griss 0,

Kyle Burkhalter 29, Austin Burkhalter 2, Conor Smith 7, Casey Heagy 8, Jeremy Ray 1, Nick Hines 0, Gabe See 0, Josh Martin 2, Alan Ericson 0.

NORTH BEACH (72) -- Alfaro 3, Moore 5, Thornton 3, Capoeman 5, Lind 10, Fry 15, Johnson 15, Cariker 17.

Naselle 9 10 18 12 -- 50
N. Beach 14 15 23 20 -- 72

Lady Fishermen blow out Comets

Courtesy of Chinook Observer
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent

ASTORIA - The Naselle Comets girls were only trailing the Astoria Fishermen by four points at the half-time intermission of their opening game of the Vince Dulcich Memorial Tournament played in the Astoria High Brick House Wednesday, Dec. 27. However, that changed quickly in the second half as the Comets were only able to score 10 second-half points, while the Lady Fishermen popped in 26 on their way to a 38-18 win over the Comets. Naselle's overall record dropped to 3-4 for the season.Taking a page from their male counterparts' playbook, the Fishermen girls used a full court pressure defense to harass the Comets into turnovers or hurried shots and the result was an Astoria runaway win. In contrast to their game against Raymond last week, the Comets could not consistently get into their offense for good shots. Most of the Naselle points came on breakaways and solo efforts.Naselle opened the game as though they would be right in the game with Erin Saari, Cheryl Steppe and Jenny Klinger each scoring. They led 8-6 at the end of one period. The second period was a different matter as the Comets could not find the hoop, going scoreless for the period, and they went in at the half trailings 8-12.The Comets were able to hang around through the third stanza with Saari and Ashley Ahlstrom each scoring four points for the Comets. However, Astoria were able to counter the Naselle points with two three-point plays and win the quarter battle 10-8 to lead 22-16 going into the fourth period.The Fish then went on a fourth period 16-0 run that wasn't stopped until Saari finally scored with a little over a minute left in the game. That was it for the scoring and Astoria sent the Naselle girls home with a 38-18 loss and a spot in the tournament's consolation game against Banks.(Last Friday's game with Banks, which lost to Knappa in its tournament opening game, is not published in the sports section of this edition of the Chinook Observer due to the early printing deadline for that section of the paper caused by the New Year's Day holiday.)

NASELLE (18) - Erin Saari 8, Ahlstrom 4, Steppe 4, Klinger 2, Pakenen, Landis, Beaulaurier, Rodriguez:

ASTORIA (38) - Jennifer Stephens 9, K.J. Carr 9, Cullen 6, J. Coggins 6, O'Bryan 4, Roman 2, Hillard 2, Wilson, B. Coggins

Astoria defense downs Comets

Courtesy of Chinook Observer
By PHIL RAISTAKKAObserver corespondent
ASTORIA - They have yet to change their name to the "Killer Bees" or the "Piranhas" but that may not be too far away if the Astoria Fishermen boys' basketball team continues to play defense as they have played this early season. The Killer Bees - er, Fishermen - swarmed their way to a 66-30 thumping of the Comets in the teams' opening game of the 35th Vince Dulcich Memorial Tournament played in the Astoria High Brick House Wednesday, Dec. 27.The loss knocked Naselle into the tournament's consolation game on Friday.The Fishermen's tenacious pressure defense forced the Comets into 28 turnovers.The Naselle coaches knew what to expect in this game after watching Astoria press Ilwaco into submission a week ago. Coach Brian Macy had a plan to combat the Astoria press and it worked beautifully to start. However, the Comets lost the ball after breaking the press on their second possession. So, Astoria did what they do best and ran a textbook fast break for their next two points. Astoria's pressure didn't allow the ball to get past the center line and the Fishermen led 8-0 only a minute and a half into the game.It didn't get any better as the Comets fell behind further with only Kyle Burkhalter (13 game points, 7 rebounds) able to solve the Fish-riddle as he scored Naselle's first five points and Astoria led 18-5 after one period. The Fishermen scoring had come from six different players with their top scorer, 5-8 senior point guard Andy Murray (12 game points), leading the way with six quick points.One of the Fishermen's top players, super sophomore Jordan Poyer, didn't even start the game as Murray, one of ten seniors on the team, has now returned from an injury. However, the 6-1 Poyer quickly established his presence with two early points on the way to nine game points as well as rebounding and defense keyed by his quickness.A ray of hope buoyed the Comets hopes in the second stanza as Burkhalter led the early charge with the Comets scoring the first five points of the quarter. However, the Fishermen didn't let that phase them as Poyer and Brian Anderson, with his second trey of the game, more than matched the Naselle hoops. Naselle's Casey Heagy provided eight late first-half points with four of those points coming on a trey plus a free throw. Those four late points allowed the Comets to close the second quarter scoring with a 22-15 deficit, trailing 40-20 at the break.The Fishermen continued to roll in the third period with a 12-0 run that wasn't interrupted until Kyle finally broke the Naselle drought after the mid-quarter mark. Astoria out-scored Naselle 16-4 in the period, even though Coach Chris Hunt pulled back the press at mid-quarter. Astoria's unrelenting pressure still changed Naselle's shots, usually only allowing only one hurried shot if they didn't steal the ball as the Comets tried to run their offense. Astoria's lead climbed to 56-24 after three periods.With 11 of their 12 players scoring in the game, Astoria continued to pull away from the Comets no matter what combination of inter-changeable players they used and they won the fourth quarter scoring battle as well, 10-6. The Comets, with the exception of Kyle, could not hit a shot in the final eight minutes and Astoria sent them home with a 66-30 drubbing.Naselle's record fell to 4-3 with the loss.(Last Friday's game with Banks, which lost 79-55 in its tournament opening game with Knappa, is not published in the sports section of this edition of the Chinook Observer due to the early printing deadline for that section of the paper caused by the New Year's Day holiday.)

NASELLE (30) - Kyle Burkhalter 13, Casey Heagy 8. Austin Burkhalter 3, Sultemeier 2, Griss 2, Smith 2; Rebounds: K. Burkhalter 7;

Turnovers (28)

ASTORIA (66) - Andy Murray 12, Brian Anderson 10, Poyer 9, Macareno 8, Landwehr 6, Culver 4, Alfonse 4, Robinson 4, Davis 4, Christianson 3, Faulkner 2, Dalton; Rebounds; Murray 7;

Assists: Murray 4;
Steals: Macareno 7

ASTORIA GIRLS SHUT DOWN COMETS

Courtesy of SportsRadio 1230 ESPN
The Astoria Girls Basketball team has had a "dis-jointed" non-conference start to the 2006-07 campaign.Injuries, suspensions, and poor weather all have contributed to an up and down start to the season, but one thing has emerged: This Lady Fishermen team can play defense.On display at the Brickhouse on Wednesday night, Astoria clamped down on Naselle, held the Comets scoreless in the 2nd quarter, and almost repeated the feat in the 4th quarter, only allowing Naselle 2 points, on their way to a convincing 38-18 victory in the opening game of the 36th Annual Vince Dulchich Memorial Tournament."I've been very happy with our defense," remarked Gordon Thompson, Astoria Head Coach. "We have kept ourselves in almost every ball game with our defense and tonight, we stepped it up a notch."After Naselle jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in the 1st quarter with 5:07 left, Astoria called a quick timeout and settled into a defensive rhythm that found the Fishermen holding the Comets scoreless the rest of the first half. While Astoria was not exactly lighting up the scoreboard themselves, a balanced attack led by Jamie Coggins (4 points) and Hilary O'Bryan (4 points), staked the homestanding Lady Fishermen to a 12-8 halftime lead.The second half was more of the same for Astoria, and unfortunately, for Naselle. Taking a 22-16 lead into the final frame, Astoria placed the vice grip around the Comets offense yet again, with Sara Cullen hitting 3 consecutive open jumpers and KJ Carr clearing off the boards, Astoria out-scored Naselle 16-2 in the 4th and cruised to the 20-point win.Astoria was led by Carr with 9 points, Jennifer Stephens also with 9, and Cullen with 6. Naselle was paced by the 8 points of Erin Saari. Astoria evens their record at 5-5 and will next play in the Championship game of the Dulchich Tournament Friday night against the winner of Thursday nights Knappa-Banks showdown. The Comets drop to 3-4 on the season and will play the loser of the Knappa-Banks game Friday afternoon at 2pm.The Astoria game can be heard Friday night with the pre-game at 5:45 pm on 1370 AM KAST.

NASELLE 8 0 8 2 - 18Saari 8, Steppe 4, Ahlstrom 4, Klinger 2, Landis, Pakenen, Beaulaurier, Green, Fletcher
ASTORIA 6 6 10 16 - 38Carr 9, Stephens 9, Cullen 6, Coggins J. 6, O'Bryan 4, Roman 2, Hillard 2, Coggins E., Wilson

FIELD GOALS- AST: 17-45-37%,
NAS- 9-21-43%

FREE THROWS- AST: 4-6-66%,
NAS- 0-5-0%REBOUNDS-

AST: 23,
NAS: 19

TURNOVERS- AST: 14,
NAS: 21

WHIZZ, WHIRR, WOW...FISHERMEN DOMINATE NASELLE

Courtesy of SportsRadio 1230 ESPN
When Astoria Basketball Coach Chris Hunt looked over his 2006-07 boy's basketball team, he knew that they had the ability to create havoc for their opponents.Hunt now calls his kids "a bunch of sharks"."Our kids start pressing and it's like the smell the blood in the water," Hunt remarked. "The ability of our guys to cause turnovers and create easy opportunities for our offense has improved as the season has gone along."That improvement reached it's highest level of the young season as Astoria throttled Naselle in the nightcap of the 36th Annual Vince Dulchich Memorial Tournament, with a 66-30 win at the Brickhouse.The Fishermen jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead within the first 90 seconds of the game and never looked back, improving their record to 7-2 on the year and notching their 7th straight win. The last time Astoria lost on the court was in the Madras Tournament to Columbia River, Wa., on December 2nd."Our guys are finally getting into condition," said Hunt. "We knew that it would take a few weeks, but now we're seeing what this team is capable of when our press leads to transistion baskets."Naselle, who dropped to 4-3 overall with the loss, found themselves down 18-5 at the end of the 1st quarter and never recovered from the early spurt by the Fishermen. The Astoria lead grew to as many as 24 points in the first half as the Fishermen blistered the nets with 49% shooting from the field while causing 17 first half Naselle turnovers.Leading 40-20 at the break, Astoria continued to build on its' lead, which ballooned to 37 points in the second half, as the Fishermen held back any hope of a Comet comeback by keeping the pressure on the full 94 feet until late in the game.Led by Andy Murray, who got his first start of the season, every player except one for Astoria made it into the scoring column. Murray and Brian Anderson paced the Fishermen with 10 points a piece, with Murray adding in 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for good measure. The Comets were led by Junior Kyle Burkhalter, who led all scorers with 13 points, along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists.Astoria next faces the winner of the Knappa-Banks matchup on Friday night in the Championship game of the Dulchich Tournament, a game that can be heard on 1370 AM KAST, immediately following the Girl's Championship contest.

NASELLE 5 15 14 6 - 30
Burkhalter K. 13, Heagy 8, Smith 2, Burkhalter A. 3, Sultemeier 2, Griss 2, Hines, Erickson

ASTORIA 18 22 16 10 - 66Murray 10, Poyer 9, Macareno 8, Alfonse 6, Landwehr 6, Robinson 4, Culver 4, Anderson 10, Faulkner 2, Davis 4, Christensen 3, Dalton

FIELD GOALS- AST: 28-66-42%,
NAS: 12-43-28%

3-PT FG'S- AST: 2-6-33%,
NAS: 1-11-9%

FREE THROWS- AST: 8-14-57%,
NAS: 5-12-42%

REBOUNDS- AST: 44,
NAS: 29

TURNOVERS- AST: 16,
NAS: 28