Comets complete 18-point comeback for first win

The Western Iowa Tech men's basketball team showed the poise and composure of a long-established program in a 69-68 win over Illinois Central on Saturday in Estherville.

A relentless and methodical 27-8 run would be just enough for the Comets to stun the Cougars, who led 60-42 with 12 minutes to play, and earn head coach Harvis "CoCo" Cofield a water bottle shower from the Comets players as he entered the locker room following the program's first NJCAA win.

"It's always fun after a gutsy win like that," Cofield said. "They were very excited because they knew they made some history.

"We know it's a long season, it's a marathon. But we're going to celebrate every win, because it's so hard to win in this league. When you get those gusty wins like that, we're going to celebrate to the fullest." 

Manuel Paul's put-back following a Silas Coleman drive with 41.4 seconds remaining tied the game at 68-68, the first tie since the game was scoreless. The first lead change of the game came when Ahmad Ingram hit the second of two free throws with 4.1 seconds to play.

"You think you're out of the game, you think you're done, but what I kept telling my team was, 'Keep fighting, it's not over until it's over,'" Cofield said. "One thing they did before the game even started was (say) they're going to fight 'til the end and not go home without a win." 

With one last possession, the Cougars advanced the ball past halfcourt and called a timeout with 2.1 seconds left, setting up a potential game-winning out-of-bounds play. Illinois Central inbounded to Jeremiah Tate, who caught the ball with his back to the basket outside of the 3-point line on the left wing. Tate pivoted to his right, faded and fired, but his shot never had a chance thanks to a closeout by WIT's Latrel Davis, whose deflection caused the ball to land harmlessly into the hands of Coleman on the left block.

Paul finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting and nine rebounds, followed by Coleman's 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high five blocks. 

"We've got a great group of guys, they're very hungry," Cofield said. "We got some leaders that lead by example and a couple guys who stepped up as well. Manny Paul had a hell of a game. Silas had a big game too. At the right time, at the right moment, they stepped up."

Ingram scored nine points in 11 minutes, Davis had eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Simarion Anderson scored seven points.

The first eight minutes of the second half was all Illinois Central. The Cougars outscored the Comets 18-7 to build their game-high 18-point lead and test the Comets' commitment to fighting to the finish.

"I'm not surprised by this group of guys that we have," Cofield said. "They got some grit to them, some toughtness to them. You'd think they'd been together for years."

The Cougars started fast and quickly led 9-0 in the game's opening minutes, but the Comets cut it to 25-22 with 7:59 remaining in the first half. WIT briefly trailed 27-25 before the Cougars extended the lead to 42-35 at halftime.

Cofield said that while this was only their second game, the Comets are already used to scrapping their way to success. High-intensity practices and end-of-game simulations prepared the Comets for this type of adversity.

"I'm always testing them, always pushing them to the limit, I'm always trying to make them uncomfortable," Cofield said.

The history-making victory came a day after a season-opening test against the best NJCCA D2 has to offer.

The Comets lost on Friday 105-82 to Milwaukee Area Tech, NJCAA's top-ranked program and defending Division 2 champions.

Davis led WIT with 18 points and eight rebounds, followed by 11 points and four boards from Paul and 10 and six from Coleman. Keishaun Pendleton scored seven with two rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist.

WIT's home opener is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Mount Marty JV in the Dunker Center.