Comets grind out victory over Vikings, 53-49

Charles City puts away stubborn Decorah

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — For the Comets, the nadir of Friday’s Northeast Iowa Conference home boys basketball game against Decorah came about midway through the second quarter.

They attempted an “alley-oop” that was one part “alley,” two parts “oops” which Vikings’ junior Jerod Redenius followed with a coast-to-coast layup with five Comets in tow.

That gave Decorah a 16-13 lead, and Charles City head coach Ben Klapperich had seen enough as he vociferously challenged his team’s resolve during the ensuing timeout.

It proved to be a night where the Comets didn’t shoot well and had a hard time keeping the Vikings from asserting themselves on the offensive glass. But it was the type of game good teams need to win even when they’re struggling, and the Comets were able to pull out a 53-49 victory.

“We came out a little flat … but we were able to pick up the intensity after some changes in personnel and defensive rotations,” said Klapperich, whose team improved to 9-1 and 4-1 in the NEIC.

Like a team that wins when it’s not playing its best, Comet sophomore Jack Molstead found a way to score 19 points when his outside shot was off. Molstead managed to finish two nifty takes to the hole on consecutive possessions — one with behind-the-back pass fake; the other with an off-hand drive and finish — to put the Comets up 33-31 late in the third quarter after they had trailed since the end of the first quarter.

Molstead later split a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to cap the scoring and prevent the Vikings from tying it with a would-be 3-point shot.

Noah Schlader, who hit Charles City’s lone 3-point shot of the game, had 15 points. Cade Hemesath, who sat out a stretch due to a turned ankle, scored 12 for the Comets.

“I thought we got a lot of good minutes from our bench tonight,” Klapperich said. “Tre Walker brought a spark for us defensively off the bench.”

Walker also hit a reverse layup that gave the Comets a 6 point lead (43-37) with 4:20 left in regulation.

The Vikings (5-4, 2-2) managed to pull within 3 in the waning moments with a 3-point play the hard way — made first free throw; put-back basket on the subsequent miss — before Molstead sealed it on the other end.

Redenius and Nick Bockman each had 19 points for Decorah.

“It’s always great to get a conference victory,” Klapperich said. “I’m very proud of how our kids battled tonight and were able to get the job done.”

CHARLES CITY 53, DECORAH 49

Scoring By Quarters

Decorah 10 12 11 16 — 49

Charles City 9 11 17 16 — 53

DECORAH — Lowden Rockweiler 2, Jonah Johnson 3, Nickolas Bockman 19, Jerod Redenius 19, Shawn Shindelar 6.

CHARLES CITY — Jack Molstead 19, Hakeem Sharief 3, Noah Schlader 15, Tre Walker 2, Cade Hemesath 12, Jaden Foster 2.