Comets comeback denied by No. 11 Kirkwood

The Western Iowa Tech men's basketball team had the upset within reach before ultimately falling to No. 11-ranked Kirkwood 79-67 Saturday afternoon at the Robert E. Dunker Center.

Freshman Silas Coleman's point-blank layup off the no-look pass from sophomore Jailyn Spears put the Comets ahead 58-57 with 10:21 left in the second half. It was WIT's first lead since a Coleman drive on the game's opening possession.

After an Eagles free throw tied the game at 58-58, Spears recovered a loose ball on the right wing and sliced through the lane for a go-ahead reverse layup.

It would be the Comets' last lead of the contest. Kirkwood went on a 12-1 run to lead 70-61 and didn't lead by less than seven for the remainder of the game.

WIT head coach Harvis "CoCo" Cofield was prepared for a challenge in their ICCAC opener.

"Starting conference play, it's going to be tough," Cofield said. "We got to continue to get better and we will."

Sophomore Latrel Davis led the Comets with 21 points. He shot 8-of-14 overall and was 4-of-7 on threes.

Kirkwood made four straight 3-pointers as part of a 16-0 run early in the first half. The Eagles finished 10-for-29 from deep while the Comets were 6-for-19.

The Comets (3-4, 0-1 ICCAC) comeback was persistent and gradual, cutting their game-high deficit of 14 points down to nine, 42-33, at halftime.

Davis opened the second-half scoring with a three from the left wing to invigorate the crown and the WIT bench.

Coleman scored underneath the basket on an inbounds play, followed by a pick-and-roll with sophomore Ahmad Ingram on the next possession to make the score 46-40. A defensive rebound by Coleman led to an Ingram-led fast break resulting in a layup and a foul. Ingram made the free throw to pull WIT within three.

Comets freshman guard Simarion Anderson scored 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting. 

Freshman Manuel Paul led the Comets with six rebounds, but WIT lost the board battle 47-31.

WIT's next three conference opponents are ranked in the top 12 of NJCAA Division II.

The Comets play No. 4-ranked Des Moines Area Community College at 7:30 p.m. in Boone on Wednesday. The Bears are 10-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

They return home to host No. 9 Ellsworth at 3 p.m. on Sunday in the Dunker Center.

Western Iowa Tech's final game of 2023 is a home game against No. 12 Iowa Lakes at noon on December 17 at the Tyson Events Center.