Comets catch and overtake Bulldogs 54-46 in regular-season finale

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Plagued by turnovers and missed layups, Charles City trailed Hampton-Dumont-CAL for most of Thursday’s non-conference boys basketball game to close the regular season for both teams, but the Comets turned up the pressure in the second half before catching and overtaking the Bulldogs in a 54-46 final.

Jeb Wandro’s fifth 3-point field goal of the game tied the game at 43-43 with just under three minutes left in regulation before Jack Hanson’s left-handed runner in the lane put Charles City up for good on its next possession as the Comets outscored the Bulldogs 23-9 in the decisive fourth quarter.

Wandro led the Comets with 17 points with fellow seniors Keenan Wiley and Hanson adding 16 and 10 points, respectively, for Charles City, which closed its season with an overall record of 13-8 ahead of hosting Center-Point Urbana on Monday in the Class 3A-Substate 3 quarterfinal.

HDC was led by 6-foot-4 senior wide-body Scott Harr, who scored a game-high 22 points while also exceeding double-figures in rebounds for the Bulldogs (12-9), who also got a lift from Harr’s 6-foot-7 sophomore brother Brady Harr, who had five blocked shots and altered several others.

There’s a possibility that the two teams will face each other again in the substate semifinal next Thursday (Feb. 22) at Comet Gym in the event No. 2-seed Charles City and No. 3-seed HDC both winning their QF games — the Bulldogs host No. 6-seed Independence on Monday.

Boys Varsity

CHARLES CITY 54,
HAMPTON-DUMONT-CAL 46

Scoring By Quarters

HDC 10 16 11 9 — 46

CC 9 15 7 23 — 54

Individual Scoring

HAMPTON-DUMONT-CAL — Tucker Heeren 5, Gavin Meader 10, Samuel VanHorn 1, Scott Harr 22, Brady Harr 8.

CHARLES CITY — Jack Hanson 10, Kaden Buseman 4, Keenan Wiley 16, Kayden Kasemeier 5, Jordin Ritter 2, Jeb Wandro 17.

RECORDS — Charles City 13-8, Hampton-Dumont-CAL12-9