Threes and defense keep Comets competitive against Reivers

The Comets could have packed it in early in either half against the Iowa Western Reivers.

Instead, their second strong performance from behind the arc and aggressive defense kept the Western Iowa Tech men's basketball team within striking distance until the game's final minutes Saturday afternoon in the Dunker Center.

The Comets cut a 10-point deficit to one in the first half and a 21-point deficit to 10 in the second half of the 108-88 home loss.

Zeb Svoboda helped ignite the comebacks with a career-high 15 points off the bench. The freshman from Omaha shot 5-for-8 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from deep.

Svoboda led the way as the Comets shot 9-for-22 from deep, their second game in a row shooting above 40% on 3-pointers. WIT shot 9-for-20 (45%) at Southwestern on Wednesday.

Manuel Paul scored 13 points and was 2-for-2 on threes. Keishaun Pendleton scored 10 points and was 2-for-5 from deep. Ashton Pennamon scored 12 points, half of which came from the free throw line (6-for-6).

Svoboda's hot hand left Iowa Western searching for answers. His final three -- a well-contested left-wing shot from 3 feet behind the arc -- left his defender with his palms skyward as if to say "What more can I do?"

The Comets (4-10 overall, 4-6 in conference) let a 46-40 halftime deficit grow to 74-54 with 13 left in the second half, when the Comets chose to increase the defensive pressure.

A full-court press and active on-ball defense (including a diving recovery by Pennamon) forced back-to-back turnovers and transition buckets by Paul and Pendleton to force a Reivers timeout at 77-62.

WIT methodically clawed back into striking distance as threes by Pendleton and Svoboda outpaced Iowa Western's two-pointers at the other end. 

A steal by Paul and a heads-up pass to Pennamon for the breakaway layup forced another Reivers timeout. Iowa Western scored on a drive on its next possession, but the Comets again answered with a three a few possessions later. Following a defensive rebound by Pendleton, Svoboda broke out to his spot on the left wing, where Pennamon found him from half court. The swish brough the Comets bench out of their seats and made the score 83-73.

Paul led WIT with eight rebounds. Jailyn Spears had six and Ruei, Pendleton and Coleman each had five. 

Southwestern 75, Western Iowa Tech 66 

The comebacks went the other Wednesday evening in Creston.

The Comets led 45-39 at halftime before a season-low 21-point half allowed the Spartans to squeeze out a 75-66 win.

Southwestern's comeback was a slow burn, as the Spartans didn't take their first second-half lead, 63-62, until 5 minutes left to play. 

Ahmad Ingram and Ruei each hit a bucket to open the second half and give the Comets their first 10-point lead of the game.

The Spartans cut the lead to 51-49 with 13:30 to go, prompting a WIT timeout. The Comets responded by scoring the next two baskets, including a Simarion Anderson three.

The game was evenly matched, knotted at 29-29, 15 minutes in. A low-post bucket gave Southwestern their last lead of the first half before WIT went on their biggest run of the game.

The Comets scored 10 straight points from lay-ins by Leroy Pooser and Paul, followed by two 3-points from Ruei, to take a 39-31 lead. Svoboda hit a right-corner three with 7 seconds in the half.

Paul led the Comets with 15 points and eight rebounds. Ruei added 14 and Svoboda scored nine. Pendleton had seven points and six assists and five boards off the bench. Anderson led WIT with three steals.