“Back-to-back long road trips definitely took its toll and it showed tonight,” commented Head Coach Ryan Garvin of the Comets.  “Our defense was slow and reactive.  We were thankful to stay in the game with our shooting in the first half.  The Johnnies came ready to play tonight.”

Sam Brumfield had a big night with 36 points and 6 rebounds, to go along with 4 steals.  Noah Brumfield finished with 10 points and 7 boards, Justin Peterson had 9 points and 5 rebounds, and Zayne Weinrich wound up with 8 points and 4 boards.

“We came out flat in the second half and simply traded baskets through 6 or 7 minutes of the half,” noted Garvin.  “In the second portion of the second half, our defense did a nice job of putting just enough pressure on their ball handlers to turn them over and for us to get a few transition baskets.  Sam and team did a better job of attacking the paint in the second half and we finished 14-of-16 at the rim in the half.  That made all the difference.”

Hillcrest (16-5) will play at Underwood on Friday as they look to extend their winning streak to five games.