Strong 2nd half lifts Comets to 65-51 win over Indians

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

WAUKON — Down by 6 at halftime, the Charles City Comets clamped down defensively against the hosting Waukon Indians in the second half of Friday night’s Northeast Iowa Conference boys basketball game, holding the Tribe to just 20 points in the remaining 16 minutes of play while winning going away by a 65-51.

It was the second win in a row for the Comets, who improved to 4-3 overall while remaining undefeated in the NEIC (3-0).

Comet junior guard Victor Ward scored all of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and senior guard Jordin Ritter also had a strong second half for Charles City while finishing with 16 points.

Ritter’s 12-foot jumper tied the game at 38-38 with 2:10 left in the third quarter. Soon after, Nick Williams’s baseline jumper put the Comets up 42-41.

From there, Charles City began to pull away.

Like a strong safety patrolling the secondary in football, Ritter was able to fall back to intercept a Waukon inbounds pass near the timeline before using his body to draw a foul on the ensuing layup, resulting in a 3-point play and the Comets extending their lead to 47-41.

Henry Ruzicka scored 15 points for the Comets, who won’t be back in action until Jan. 6 when they host Waterloo East.

Juniors Colton O’Neill and Braxton Howe had 13 and 11 points respectively for the Indians (2-4, 0-3).

CHARLES CITY 65, WAUKON 51

Scoring By Quarters

Charles City 13 12 19 21 — 65

Waukon 15 16 10 10 — 51

RECORDS — Charles City 4-3 (3-0 Northeast Iowa Conference), Waukon 2-4 (0-3)