Comets victorious over Eagles, 79-73

After a subpar effort during regulation the men’s basketball team beat Mendocino College (13-11 overall, 7-6 in the Bay Valley Conference) 79-73 in overtime in Ukiah Friday.

CCC (18-6 overall, 9-3 in the BVC) needs to win all of its games to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Eagles, forcing overtime, almost put the Comets’ season in jeopardy.

“We just kept it in our mind that our season was on the line,” sophomore forward J’uan Parker. “We just (had) the mentality that we need to win the game.”

The Comets are currently in second place even though Merritt has a better conference record because they have not had their bye week yet. But CCC beat the Thunderbirds at home 79-73 on Jan. 19.

“We control our own destiny,” sophomore guard/forward Tyler West Jr. said.

Men’s basketball coach Miguel Johnson said since they split with College of Marin and lost both games to Yuba College the team has to focus on winning these final four games. Johnson said the squad still needs to improve.

“We have to do everything better,” he said. “We have to shoot better and play better (overall),” Johnson said.

In the overtime against Mendocino, the Comets pulled themselves together and beat the Eagles by finishing with a solid team effort, minimizing mistakes.

“There were a bunch of times we were down, but we didn’t let that affect us,” sophomore forward Jacob Monroe said.

Parker said, once ahead, the Comets showed poise to get the much needed victory and stay in the postseason picture.

“Once we got the lead we did what we needed to do to win the game in overtime,” Parker said.

The Comet players are confident that they will make it to the playoffs as long as they keep playing as a team. A positive team attitude and a strong clutch effort are the reason the Comets were able to hold off Mendocino.

“We just kept fighting as a team and stuck together in a hostile environment,” West said.