Comets force turnovers, win in New Hampton

CHARLES CITY BASKETBALL: Comets 58, New Hampton 54

Comets force turnovers, win in New Hampton

Charles City developing mental toughness, coach says

Press correspondent

No matter the sport, a young and inexperienced team can certainly benefit from early-season games at home. The Charles City Comet boys basketball team most definitely qualifies as young and somewhat inexperienced.

They surely haven’t had the advantage of many home contests, however. Of the first seven games this season, five have been on the road.

That stretch of travel continued Tuesday night as the Comets faced off in New Hampton with a Chickasaw squad that also features several young players.

Sophomore Cade Hemeseth and freshman Jack Molstead each scored 19 points, Noah Schlader added nine, and the Comets hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Chickasaws 58-54.

Charles City started slowly in the scoring department. The Comets trailed 10-4 after eight minutes, but got multiple good looks that simply wouldn’t drop.

“We couldn’t find the bottom of the hoop,” Comet head boys coach Todd Forsyth said. “We executed well and our shot selection was good. The ball just didn’t drop. Our defense kept us in the game.”

Forsyth was referring to the numerous turnovers his Comet team forced not only in that first quarter, but throughout the game.

The turnovers that led to missed opportunities in the first quarter finally led to points in the second. It was the work of post player Hemeseth and the guard play of Molstead and Mike Cranshaw that did it.

Time and time again, Hemeseth beat New Hampton defenders down the floor, and the two Comet guards each made a series of nifty passes to the 6-5 Hemeseth that led to lay-ups or free throws. It allowed the Comets to close the halftime gap to 22-19.

“That was our scheme,” Forsyth said. “We have really started to demand that our post players run the floor.”

“If we’re running the floor that hard with our post players, we need depth at that position. We have that.”

The third quarter has been a bugaboo for the Comets the majority of the season, but for the second consecutive game they outscored an opponent coming out of halftime.

They turned that three point deficit at the half into a three point lead after the third.

“Our roles are developing and so is our offensive consistency,” Forsyth said. “Knowing our roles in sets and being able to create sets for the right person at the right time, those are important for our offense to succeed. This offense relies on timing and precision.”

The lead grew to as many as nine a couple times in the fourth, but New Hampton’s full-court press led to a few turnovers and easy points, allowing the Comet lead to be trimmed to a basket.

Molstead took over from there, nailing several free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.

Forsyth noted the physicality his young point guard had to endure.

“Opponents know who our best offensive player is, and teams in the NEIC especially will be physical with that player. Jack is learning how to play against that. He got to the free throw line 13 times tonight. As he gets older, he will learn how to develop his game to gain even more of an advantage.”

Elsewhere offensively, Brandt Gabel chipped in six points, Cranshaw and Jaden Foster each had two, and Shane Feller had one.

The stretch of road games early on has allowed Forsyth to see a trait developing in his team.

“I feel we’ve handled this tough early-season schedule very well. We are building mental toughness. That will help us down the line.”

Charles City now gets some well-deserved time off. After so many road games, the Comets are glad they get to spend the holiday break at home.

By Erik Hoefer