Comets hustle past Huskies, 80-51

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

OELWEIN — You had to give Oelwein a little credit for hanging with the Class 3A No. 8-ranked Comets early during Friday’s Northwest Iowa Conference boys basketball game on the Huskies’ home floor.

But then came the hustle play that set the tone for the remainder of the game and left the Huskies in the dust.

While trying to track down a long pass that went a little too long, Charles City senior Cade Hemesath leaped just inside the baseline out of bounds to save a possession while at the same time finding sophomore Bradley Andrews spotting up at the 3-point arc. Andrews promptly hit the trey, giving the Comets a modest 12-point lead (35-23) with just over two minutes left in the half.

The advantage would get bigger … much bigger as Charles City eventually doubled Oelwein’s score (64-32) going into the fourth quarter before cruising to an 80-51 victory.

Comet senior Noah Schlader led all scorers with 17 points. Andrews had 16 points, Mike Cranshaw scored 15, Hemesath added 12 and Jack Molstead scored 10 as all five Charles City starters achieved double-figure scoring.

Molstead also had nine assists and Cranshaw dished out six for the Comets (13-2, 8-0), who still remain atop the NEIC standings.

The one-sided victory also got the Comets back on the winning track. The weekend before during the Wells Fargo Advisors Shootout at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Charles City fell to then Class 3A No. 2-ranked Mount Pleasant, stopping a 12-game winning streak.

Dom Robertson and Dillon Arndt scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Oelwein (3-14, 0-10).

CHARLES CITY 80, OELWEIN 51

Scoring By Quarters

CHARLES CITY 20 19 25 26 — 80

OELWEIN 17 6 11 19 — 51

CHARLES CITY (80)

Jack Molstead 10, Hakeem Sharief 2, Mike Cranshaw 15, Colton Slinger 4, Bradley Andrews 16, Noah Schlader 17, Tyreque Baker 2, Cade Hemesath 12, Tait Arndt 2.

OELWEIN (51)

Dom Robertson 13, Dillon Arndt 11, Adam Deaner 2, Jacob King 2, Steven Nicolay 2, Mason Meyer 16, Mason Kunkle 5.