Offensive firepower on display in narrow home loss

Three Comets combined for 62 points as Western Iowa Tech lost to Southwestern Community College 80-72 Wednesday night in the Dunker Center.

"We wanted to win that game so bad, we wanted to get over that hump of losing down the stretch," head coach Harvis 'Coco' Cofield said. 

Jailyn Spears scored a season-high 28 points on 13-for-20 shooting, Latrel Davis added 20 points and a team-high six rebounds, and Ashton Pennamon chipped in 14 points and a game-high five steals.

The Comets (6-14 overall, 2-10 conference) trailed the Spartans 40-34 at halftime and fluctuated between deficits of three and 11 in the second half. 

Davis scored a lay-up on a two-on-one fastbreak alongside Simarion Anderson to cut the lead to 62-58 with 6:04 to play. Out of the ensuing Comets timeout, the Spartans passed around the WIT zone defense until a 3-pointer from the left wing fell through with 5:35 to play. The Comets never trailed by less than five points after that.

The trio of scoring outbursts highlights both the Comets' impressive skill and potential as well as the need for a more balanced, team-oriented offense. No other Comet scored more than four points Wednesday night.

"At times you do want your players to make those individual plays," Cofield said. "But when you're trying to have a comeback, when you're trying to get over that four-point difference ... you got to work it in a way where it's a team shot."

The Comets shot an efficient 50% from the floor, but were just 3-for-13 on threes (23.1%) and 9-for-16 (56.3%) from the free throw line. The Spartans made nine threes and made 11-of-17 free throws.

"We need to continue to trust one another. Our shot selection is not bad. It's OK, especially when we're driving to the basket," Cofield said. "But we're not hitting threes right now. That can cause a lot of unbalance on the offensive end."

Though it wasn't textbook, the offense did enough to give the Comets a chance.

"That was a game for us that we could win on our home floor," Cofield said. "Down the stretch we didn't get the defensive stops that we needed."

Defense will be key as the Comets flip the calendar to a tough February schedule that features just two home games. 

"Going into these seven games, we just got to focus on the defensive end," Cofield said. "Offense, I'm not too worried about. We can score the ball."

Players like Bie Ruei and Joshua Scott will be counted on to set the tone on the defensive end.

Ruei had four points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals in 37 minutes against the Spartans.

"He does bring a defensive presence. He understands the rotation, he understands where to be," Cofield said of Ruei. "We just got to get everybody else in that same realm."

Scott had two steals and two rebounds while often taking one of the toughest defensive assignment in 21 minutes.

"Josh stepped up, too, giving us minutes off the bench," Cofield said. "He's got to play a bigger role for us We want to use him for defense because he can guard some of the bigger guards and some of the bigger posts for us."

The Comets next three games are on the road at Kirkwood, Iowa Lakes and Ellsworth -- the second-, fourth- and third-place teams in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference, and all nationally ranked.

"What type of character will we have going on the road? Are we going to battle on the road? Are we going to battle, battle, battle to get these wins?" Cofield said. "I know one thing for sure. The boys are competitors. They want to win. And they are going to do everything in their power to win. We just have to do it collectively, I know that for sure."

Western Iowa Tech plays at Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be free to stream on the ICCAC Sports Network.