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Comets advance to substate semis with 71-33 first-round win over Mustangs

Comets advance to substate semis with 71-33 first-round win over Mustangs
Press photo by John Burbridge
Charles City senior Brennan Schmidt takes it to the hole while being fouled by Independence’s Tanner Michael as Comet junior Kam Mestas looks on. The resulting three-point play capped a 9-point scoring outburst by Schmidt, who helped give his team a 55-23 lead going into the fourth quarter on way to a 71-33 substate first-round victory.

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — You didn’t have to seize any classified material to know how Independence was going to try to handle Charles City’s superior size and athleticism during Monday’s Class 3A-Substate 4 quarterfinal.

The Mustangs were likely going to roll out variations of a 2-3 or 2-1-2 defensive zone and hope the Comets — after not playing for 10 days — would be as cold as February from the outside.

Mission not quite accomplished.

Yeah, the favored Comets were a little off from the outside as they didn’t hit their first 3-point field goal until late in the second quarter.

But Charles City attacked Independence’s zone with excellent ball movement and ample floor spacing, getting the ball to their above-the-rim scorers near the basket, crashing the offensive boards for second- and third-chance shots, and answering the Mustangs’ zone with long-limbed man-to-man defense and relentless pressure to force turnovers and transition opportunities.

The result was Charles City running the Mustangs out of Comet Gym as well as the postseason with a running clock employed early in the fourth quarter to expedite a 71-33 first-round victory.

Junior Kam Mestas led all scorers with 23 points — 15 of which he scored in the first half while helping the Comets take a 38-16 intermission lead.

Junior Keenan Wiley also had a productive first half for the Comets, scoring 12 of his 14 points.

Comet senior Brennan Schmidt hit that elusive trey late in the first half, then scored 9 more points in a span of less than a minute late in the third quarter that broke the Mustangs for good.

After hitting a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, Schmidt released on a long defensive rebound from Chase Low, who dished it upcourt to Schmidt, who finished at the rim while drawing a foul from Mustang junior Tanner Michael.

The completed three-point play gave the Comets a 55-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs came to Comet Gym with an 8-13 overall record, but seven of their losses were by two possessions or less, including a 70-65 road loss to No. 4-ranked Marion, who is the top seed in the Substate 4 bracket.

Determined not to let the Mustangs hang around longer than they should, the Comets jumped out to a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Independence managed to draw within 3 (19-16) early in the second quarter, but then the Comets held the Mustangs scoreless for the rest of the half and then outscored them 23-9 in the third quarter, leaving them in the dust two turns ahead of the homestretch.

Michael had 11 points including a pair of 3-pointers for Independence.

Next up for the Comets (16-5) is the substate semifinals on Thursday where they will host Mount Vernon (15-7), which advanced with a one-sided win of its own while eliminating Crestwood in a 63-32 final.

Marion (17-5) and Decorah (14-7) advanced to the semifinal on their side of the bracket.

Boys Basketball

Class 3A-Substate 4

Quarterfinal

CHARLES CITY 71, INDEPENDENCE 33

Scoring By Quarters

INDEPENDENCE 10 6 9 10 — 33

CHARLES CITY 16 22 23 16 — 71

Individual Scoring

INDEPENDENCE — Jake Beatty 2, Aidan Bernard 4, Josh Beatty 7, Tanner Michael 11, Wyatt Kresser 2, Garrett Donley 3, Kyle Williams 4.

CHARLES CITY — Jack Hanson 5, Brennan Schmidt 12, Keenan Wiley 14, Chase Low 8, Kam Mestas 23, Joel Villagomez 2, Jeb Wandro 2, Drew Martin 5.

RECORDS — Charles City 16-5, Independence 8-14

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