Comets continue to make strides toward playing a complete game

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL: CLEAR LAKE 75, CHARLES CITY 63

Comets continue to make strides toward playing a complete game

8 different scorers make their mark Monday night

On Saturday, head coach Todd Forsyth said the boys basketball team was able to put together five solid minutes of concrete basketball, played the way he wants the team to play.

In Monday night’s 75-63 loss to Clear Lake on the road, that amount of time doubled.

“We played a really solid first quarter, but got into a little foul trouble early,” Forsyth said. “We tried to cover it up, but we were struggling defensively.”

Down 36-21 at halftime, Forsyth said the Comets had a conversation that changed the pace of the game quickly after the break.

After regrouping at the half, the Comets were able to come out and bring the game within three points by the end of the third quarter — 46-43.

“We really pushed the tempo; our communication was great,” Forsyth said. “We were playing the game how we want to play.”

But a slight lapse in focus opened up the lead for Clear Lake, and the 12-point loss handed the Comets their second loss of the season.

“We just lose focus too easily,” Forsyth said. “As a coaching staff, we looked at it this way: On Saturday, we played five good minutes of basketball. Tonight, we doubled that.”

Freshman Jackson Molstead led the Comets with 18 points on the night. Sophomore Cole Hemesath followed closely behind with 15 points.

From here, the Comets’ next step is finding a way to put the type of play they had in the first and third — and even part of the fourth quarter, Forsyth said — into action, where they’re playing a full, 32 minutes of basketball, the Charles City way.

“It’s going to take experiencing different things, “ Forsyth said. “We made great adjustments at halftime. When our defense wasn’t working, we switched it to zone, and that worked really well.

“But then it started to fall apart and they opened it up on us.”

Another notable statistic Forsyth was eager to mention was the free throws.

“We shot 12 free throws. They shot 30,” Forsyth said. “That can’t happen if we want to be in games.” The Comets next stop is the conference opener with Crestwood at home on Dec. 11. That game starts at 7:30 p.m.

Forsyth said that Crestwood might very well be the best competition the Comets have seen so far this season, and will have to be extra ready.

Staff report