Heading to the fourth, BCLUW led the Wolverines 68-47, and though GMG made a great effort to come back the Comets were able to hold on for an 81-71 victory, their biggest of the year.

BCLUW boys head coach Luke Higgins said his boys were able to secure their third win of the year because of their aggression on the offensive side of the ball.

“We were driving the ball and getting it into the hoop and that was the big difference maker,” Higgins said. “We were driving the ball to the basket, making buckets and looking for the dump-offs after they were starting to bring guys over on us.”

Comet leading scorer Jonny Neff maintained that title on Saturday with a game-high 24 points, along with six rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

“He started off a little slow then caught some fire in the middle of the first quarter, then just took off the rest of the game and didn’t look back,” Higgins said of Neff, who surpassed his season average by 10 points. “That’s what we need from Jonny, night in and night out.”

Neff said his personal line was great, but he was happy to end a four-game losing streak and get the team’s first win since the turn of the calendar.

Neff wasn’t the only one who scored well for the Comets (3-10) though. Jack Garber had 17 points, nine assists and three steals, Mason Yantis went for 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds and Treye Teske had 11 points.

“The reason this game was different was because we had other kids scoring besides Jack and Jonny, and that’s what we need the rest of the season,” Higgins said.

Neff agreed with his coach that the scoring from other guys helps open up the floor for even more contribution.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

“It’s really nice when Jack and Trey can draw guys in, especially against a 2-3 when they are driving in and sucking in three guys, that really opens it up for me and Mason,” Neff said.

While BCLUW had its best offensive night, it was yet another bad defensive showing for GMG (5-7). Wolverine head coach Michael Plett said he was proud that his guys cut a 21-point deficit at the start of the fourth down to a 10-point defeat, but they need to find ways to keep teams from filling up the opposite side of the scoreboard.

“We just left it all out there in the second half, but you cannot give up 81 points in a basketball game,” Plett said. “We have got to figure out some way to keep teams more in check. I don’t know what it is, we’ve tried a number of different defenses, but it just seems like people are able to score on us. To score 71 points in a game and lose by 10 is frustrating.”

Though the GMG boys struggled throughout the night, one Wolverine was a bright spot. Aaron Fleming finished with 24 points to match Neff for the game high, and he hit six 3-pointers while going for a season-high.

“He struggled the last couple of games, but last game he got into double figures again and he carried that momentum into tonight,” Plett said of Fleming. “He is one of those guys where when he sees the ball go in once or twice those first couple of shots, it’s going to go in 10 or 15 times. He is a terrific offensive player and I really enjoy coaching him.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Kolton Gill followed Fleming with 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, and Brock Baldazo finished with 10. Avery Bryant and Brayden Peterson each had nine points for GMG, but the Comets kept Peterson in check most of the night, considering he averages almost 19 points per contest.

“The past three days we’ve talked about upping the pressure on defense to help our offense out, and that’s really what it came down to,” Higgins said of his defense. “We didn’t allow them to have any looks and we got a couple of steals that were able to get some quick transition points.”

BCLUW will try for consecutive wins for the first time this season when it hosts Colo-NESCO in Conrad on Monday, and GMG next hosts Collins-Maxwell on Tuesday.

BCLUW 81, GMG 71

At Conrad

GMG (5-7) — Kolton Gill 5 2-2 14, Aaron Fleming 8 2-2 24, Brock Baldazo 4 2-6 10, Brayden Peterson 3 3-4 9, Blaze Krull 2 0-0 5, Justin Savadty 0 0-0 0, Avery Bryant 4 1-2 9. TOTALS 26 10-16 71.

BCLUW (3-10) — Jack Garber 8 0-1 17, Treye Teske 6 0-3 11, Jonny Neff 7 6-6 24, Erick Knott 2 0-0 4, Mason Yantis 7 0-0 14, Noah Gallentine 2 3-3 8, Jesse Moore 0 0-0 0, Tristen Gallentine 0 0-0 0, Jack Hughes 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 33 9-14 81.

GMG 16 17 14 28 — 71

BCLUW 22 24 22 13 — 81

3-Point Goals–GMG 9 (Fleming 6, Gill 2, Krull), BCLUW 6 (Neff 2, Garber, Teske, N. Gallentine, Hughes). Total Fouls–GMG 20, BCLUW 15. Fouled Out–Savadty, Gill, Garber.