NASELLE – It had been exactly one month since the Naselle Comets boys basketball team last tasted victory as they had edged the South Bend Indians by one point on Dec. 20, 2004. In this game, played on Thursday, Jan. 20, the Comets looked as though that 30 day, seven game, losing streak was going to continue when they went “0-fer-14” for the first seven minutes and 55 seconds of the first quarter. They also missed the only two free throws that they tried during that time.

Evan Hendrickson finally hit a three, only five seconds before the end of the period and the Comets were on the scoreboard as they trailed the Wishkah Valley Loggers 8-3 after one quarter. The two teams were playing a Pacific League game in Naselle’s newly named Lyle Patterson Gym. The game produced a win for Naselle when the Comets rallied for a 63-42 win.

The Comets first quarter woes had included the missed shots from every conceivable angle as well as a half a dozen turnovers. Things were not going well for the Comets as they were also having trouble running their offense to get good shots. The Comets defense and rebounding were carrying them as they limited the Loggers to eight first quarter points.

Coach Brian Macy was trying every combination of players that he had available to him but the shots still wouldn’t go down for practically the entire first period. When the change finally came, it came from three-balls from two of the Comets who haven’t been known for their shooting threes, Jason Gradt and Greg Queener.

A Queener free throw was followed by a steal and a layin by Tony Mendoza to tie the game at 14. Queener popped in a three, and following another Mendoza steal, Queener drilled another trey on an inbound play. Aoy Marion drove the key for a score only seconds before the half-time horn and the Comets 13 straight points inside the final three minutes had given NHS a 22-14 half-time lead after outscoring WVHS 19-6 in the quarter.

Robert Torppa countered an opening Wishkah hoop with a three-ball. Kyle Burkhalter added a layin on a breakaway. The Loggers’ Randy Ayres then drilled a three-pointer at the 6:25 mark. Five minutes later, with 1:05 left in the quarter, Ayres popped in another three.

However, during those five minutes, the Comets ran off 15 unanswered points with six of those points coming from Burkhalter on a variety of shots from around the key. The 44-22 Naselle lead had come about due to a 22-8 NHS third period added to their 19-6 second quarter.

By game’s end, nine of the 10 players had scored, led by four players in double figures. Wishkah wasn’t far behind in their point output by individuals, there just weren’t as many of them.

With Naselle holding a 22 point lead going into the fourth period, the question became one of whether the Comets could hold it. They did, all but one point of it, as seven Comets joined in the fourth quarter scoring, ending in a 63-42 win.

The win brought Naselle’s league record to 3-2 and 4-10 overall.

Wishkah Valley – Randy Ayres 12, Sam Carlisle 12, John Clevenger 10, Heyting 4, Tokarczyk 4, Chak

NASELLE – Jason Gradt 14, Evan Hendrickson 11, Greg Queener 11, Kyle Burkhalter 10, Marion 6, Torppa 5, Williams 2, Johnson 2, Mendoza 2

Comets boys fall to second ranked VikingsNASELLE – For nearly a half of their 32 minute game with the undefeated Willapa Valley Vikings, the state’s second ranked “B” team, the Naselle Comets held their own. But the Vikings used their overwhelming height and transition game to pull away from the Comets for a 53-35 Pacific League win.

The Vikings started a lineup with every player over 5-foot-10 – and one at 6-foot-5 – against the vertically challenged Comets. The Vikes didn’t even start their 6-foot-11 senior Zach Baugher, who had been sick during the week.

Naselle’s Greg Queener entered the game and immediately scored. Queener’s hoop brought the Comets to within a point at 13-12 as the quarter ended. There had been four ties in the period.

Baugher entered the game as the second period opened and he immediately scored after a NHS turnover. Queener drew a foul from Baugher, and made one of his two tries at the 6:22 mark. That was to be Naselle’s last point of the period until only 12 ticks were left on the clock.

While the Comets offense and shooting “went south,” the Vikings dropped in 13 points, including five by Langer and a thunderous breakaway dunk by Baugher. That shot stirred up the Valley faithful.

The Valley defense was doing such a job that two of the Comets higher scorers, Evan Hendrickson and Kyle Burkhalter, had not gotten a shot off in the first 16 minutes.

After Marion finally broke the ice with 12 seconds left in the half, the Vikes Ryan Freeman hustled down the court and canned a jumper as the horn sounded to give Valley a 30-15 half-time lead. Freeman was to be the only other player to finish in double figures with 12 points.

The start of the second half was delayed when the referees ordered part of the floor to be swept, and in some cases, scraped clean of debris, where dozens of kids had been out shooting on the floor during the half-time break. If this practice is allowed to continue, the half-time shooters are going to have to be restricted to using clean gym shoes or wearing socks. The floor, already nearing the end of its useful life after over 50 years of use, has to be protected against such use – and abuse.

The delay may have helped the Comets. They came out and scored the first nine points of the second half. Marion scored off a steal by Ricky Johnson, Burkhalter scored on an offensive rebound for his only points of the game. Johnson scored after making a steal and putting back his own missed shot, and Marion dropped in a trey – all in the first two and a half minutes – to pull within six points of the Vikings.

Action was fast and furious in the last 40 seconds of the period as two Naselle turnovers negated good Comets plays. Langer was fouled with 1.7 seconds left in the period and his two freebies ended the quarter with a 39-29 Viking lead as the Comets had won the quarter scoring battle 14-9.

The fourth period went fairly well for the Comets through the first 3:15 as Valley scored five points to the Comets four, on hoops by Queener and Hendrickson. But after Hendrickson’s fast break score, the Comets offense went flat and the Vikings scored the next nine points in a little over three and a half minutes to take a 20 point lead.

Willapa Valley – Brady Langer 22, Ryan Freeman 12, Anderson 9, Foster 4, Baugher 4, Bannish 2, McNamara

NASELLE – Aoy Marion 14, Queener 5, Hendrickson 5, Torppa 4, Gradt 3, Johnson 2, Burkhalter 2, Mendoza, Williams, Griss