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Comet Boys Hold Off Second Half Charge by Mahnomen/Waubun to Post 72-69 Victory

By Craig Olson, 01/30/23, 11:45PM CST

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The Hillcrest boys’ basketball team went up 49-33 at the half, extended their lead to twenty points in the second half, and then saw Mahnomen-Waubun come storming back to cut the lead to four points at 53-49 with 3 minutes remaining in the game.  They pulled to within one at 66-65 with just over a minute to go, but the Comets held on for a 72-69 victory on Monday night.

Hillcrest made 17-of-31 field goals in the first half and 9-of-10 free throws as they build their lead.  Noah Brumfield scored 19 of his 27 in the first half and Justin Petersen had 17 of his 24 in the opening half.

“Mahnomen made some adjustments to their offense and attacked us well in the second half,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin.  “We didn’t seem terribly committed to containing our man and they made us pay for our passivity.  We also struggled with our shot selection and got really sloppy with our passing and Mahnomen capitalized, going on a 16-0 run to bring them to within four points.”

Brumfield added 8 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with his game high 27 points.  Petersen had 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and Luke Christensen had 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Tyson McArthur led Mahnomen with 27.  Joe Sudar had 11 and Dennis Ashley had 10 for the Thunderbirds.

“Another grind-it-out-at-the-end night for the Comets,” added Coach Garvin.  “Mahnomen played with poise in the second half and made some clutch buckets, but we showed some grit and made enough plays down the stretch to pull out the victory.”

Hillcrest (12-2, 8-1 LEC) will host Ashby on Tuesday and Border West on Friday in a pair of Little Eight Conference matchups.