Men's basketball loses exciting non-conference game

The Western Iowa Tech men's basketball team played one of its most competitive games of the season Wednesday night in the Dunker Center.

Keavian Hayes scored a season-high 24 points, Bie Ruei and Latrel Davis each scored 10, and Manuel Paul had seven points and eight rebounds as the Comets narrowly lost to Central Community College (Columbus, Nebraska), 76-70.

Hayes bested his previous scoring high by 11 points, but Comets head coach Harvis CoCo Cofield said he always knew the 6'2" guard from Sioux City could take over a game.

"I've been coaching him for six years," Cofield said. "He's a gamer. When it's a big game, he's really the type of player that can step up and give us what we need."

Hayes came off the bench to provide another scoring threat, though the West High School product also contributed on the defensive side of the ball.

A seven-pass sequence with 6:08 left in the game led to Hayes scoring in the paint to tie the game at 60-60. It was the last time WIT (4-7 overall, 0-3 ICCAC) would be even with Central (11-4).

The Raiders answered with a 12-2 run that gave them the first double-digit lead of the game.

"Central shot the ball really well, especially in the second half," Cofield said, adding the Comets could have done a better job running the Raiders off the 3-point line.

Ruei missed a 3-pointer with the Comets down 74-64, but Hayes snuck behind the Central rebounder to rip the ball out and lay it in for two.

Another Central turnover led to a Hayes three from the top of the arc, cutting WIT's deficit to just five with 1:50 to play.

Ashton Pennamon stole the ensuing inbounds pass but the Comets were unable to capitalize in the 2-on-1 opportunity in the paint.

With 51.4 seconds left Ruei was fouled while trying to grab an offensive rebound and hit one of his two foul shots, getting WIT to 70.

Pennamon's aggressive defense forced a backcourt violation on Central's next possession, giving the Comets their last chance at late-game heroics, but a turnover just 4 seconds into the next play virtually ended the comeback. An intentional foul gave the Raiders their final two points via free throws. Central was 11-for-15 from the foul line, while the Comets were 6-for-15.

Cofield thinks the Comets can extract valuable lessons from non-conference loss and apply it to the remaining 15 ICCAC games on their schedule.

"It's good for us to go through these types of situations, we practice these types of situations," Cofield said. "We have to execute down the stretch and make some shots."

Cofield said the offensive decision making was better, calmer, in the first half, when the Comets took the time to get the ball in the paint, where they outscored the Raiders 28-24. In crunch time, however, he feels the Comets were a little too quick to pull the trigger from the perimeter.

"When there's 2 minutes left and its a four-point game, it's still a one possession, two possesion game," he said. "We need to stick to the gameplan and not deviate from it, and we'll give ourselves a chance to win some games.

"That's something with a young team, guys are trying to make hero shots, instead of just going with the flow of the offense."

The Comets play their final game of 2023 at noon on Sunday in the Tyson Events Center, where they'll host No. 8 Iowa Lakes in an ICCAC match-up.

"We got a tough game on Sunday...we're trying to make sure we continue to play the right way," Cofield said.

WIT travels to Central for a rematch on January 13.