Comets bounce Saints for first win

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL: CRESTWOOD 62, CHARLES CITY 42 (FRIDAY) | CHARLES CITY 59, ST. ANSGAR 45

Comets bounce Saints for first win

High energy gives CC first win before four-game road trip

An up and down weekend ended on a high note for the Comets Saturday afternoon after pulling out their first win of the season, 59-45 against Saint Ansgar.

Charles City (1-3, 0-1 NEIC) maintained the lead for most of the game Saturday at home Noah Schlader hit a 3-pointer to set the tone in the first 15 seconds of the game, and it was mainly downhill from there.

The Comets carried a 29-16 lead into the half with heavy momentum on their side. A hiccup in the third quarter led the Saints to outscore the Comets 20-14 in the fraction, but head coach Todd Forsyth said his team handled it well.

“I thought we did a great job keeping our composure when they made a run at us in the third quarter,” Forsyth said. “We kept playing hard. We looked and played a little tired, but we extended so much emotion and energy against Cresco. But the tempo was really good.”

A conference battle with Crestwood on Friday night expended a lot of energy from the Comets. Leading the Cadets at halftime, 29-26, a quarter and a half, 22-2 run by Cresco would eventually bury the Comets in their first conference loss of the year.

Overall, it’s been a building process. In the first game, players and coaches recognized they weren’t putting together full, 100 percent effort games. The Comets would play eight solid minutes of basketball, and that was it.

And then it turned into 16 solid minutes. And 24 solid minutes. Then, on Saturday, the Comets played their most complete game yet.

“Today was a full game,” said freshman guard Jack Molstead. “The first game we played about four minutes, the second game about eight minutes. Last game we played a good first half, not a second half. But we played a good game today.”

Molstead finished with a team high 16 points Saturday, including 5-for-5 free throw shooting and two steals. Forsyth said Molstead has some skills at a young age that will come in handy later down the road this season.

“Jack has great handle with the basketball,” Forsyth said. “His dribbling ability to create shots for others, to go through traffic, to push tempo, is just a fantastic, outstanding skill that he’s worked really hard to develop.”

Molstead said he’s spent hours in the gym with family members working on perfecting his handling, shot selection and even a little bit of defense.

“Every day in the gym, practicing everything,” Molstead said. “I’ve had my dad and my brother, Josh, help me along the way.”

Schlader and Cade Hemesath each had eight points apiece Saturday against the Saints. Hemesath also led the team in rebounding with seven. Mike Crenshaw had three assists moving the Comets to 1-3 on the season.

Charles City’s next contest is on the road against Dike-New Hartford, the first game of a four-game road trip. That game begins at 7:30 p.m.

By Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com