Tired of losing, Comets turn season around in sectional

by PAUL MORTON

Associate editor

Having had enough of a 13-game losing streak, the Amherst Comets picked the opening two rounds of the playoffs to win their first games in 2010.

The Comets began their two-game winning streak in the unlikeliest of ways Tuesday, March 2, knocking off third-seeded Strongsville, 48-45 in the sectional opener.

The game started as one might expect, with the heavily favored Mustangs taking a 27-14 lead at the half. But the Comets came alive in the third quarter and put the game away in the fourth.

"At halftime, defensively, I was happy with what we were doing," coach John Srnis said. "Offensively, if they would just buy into a little bit more of making some more passes and shooting layups, not shooting just any shots, I thought we'd be OK. It worked out."

Connor Weir, who scored two points in the first half, finished with a game-high 26. His second-half points included 10 consecutive free throws in the fourth period to put the game away.

The counterpoint to Weir's offensive output in the second half was Strongsville's utter collapse in the fourth period. The Mustangs did not make a single field goal in the fourth period, as the Comets outscored them 21-7 in the final frame.

The win put the Comets into the sectional final against the North Olmsted Eagles, who had beaten Amherst twice in the regular season. But the Comets won when it counted, 54-48 in overtime, sending the Eagles home for the rest of the playoffs.

After playing to an 8-8 tie in the first period, the Comets turned up the heat in the second period. Defensively they held North Olmsted to one field goal and two free throws, then finished the half with an 8-0 run for a 21-12 lead at the intermission.

The Eagles made a run in the third period, cutting the Comets lead to two. But Amherst finished the quarter on the foul line, hitting three of four free throws to take a 31-26 lead into the fourth period.

The Comets extended that lead to open the fourth with Shakeem Jones feeding the ball to Alex Kneisel for a layup, then Jones hitting two free throws for a nine-point lead with 6:35 left in regulation. Weir said that lead might have unnerved the team.

"I don't remember the last time we had a lead that big, especially in the fourth quarter," Weir said. "We're not used to playing with a lead. And the fact that we've never had a lead ever kind of contributed to the fact that we lost a little bit at the end."

The Eagles went on a 9-2 run to trim the Comets lead to two points. During that span, Amherst committed four turnovers and missed the front halves of two one-and-one situations.

In the final two minutes of the quarter, Mahmoud Ahmad scored two buckets for the Eagles, matching Amherst's offensive output. George Bloomfield hit a layup to tie the game, and was fouled, giving him the potential to go ahead with 13 seconds remaining in the period.

The free throw bounded off the front of the rim, and the Comets rebounded. But a missed shot at the other end of the floor, and missed desperation shot by the Eagles at the buzzer left the score 41-41.

In the time out between the end of regulation and overtime, the Comets huddled. Weir said that little break was what they needed to pull out the win.

"In that break between the fourth quarter and overtime, we got a chance to regain our composure, which we had lost there at the end of the fourth quarter," Weir said. "Luckily George missed that free throw at the end. I've been playing with George in AU since I was, like, 10, and he doesn't miss that shot. So I think that gave us some confidence, too."

Weir started out the four-minute overtime period splitting a pair of free throws, then hitting his second 3-pointer of the game. Kneisel extended the lead to six points with a pair of free throws, then the Comets matched the Eagles point-for-point to finish with a 54-48 win.

The win puts the Comets in the district semifinal game against first-seeded Medina at 6 p.m. today at Midview High School.