GREENTOWN Round 2 was just as much of a thriller. It was the ending that was different this time around.
Two weeks to the day after a come-from behind victory over Eastern in the opening game of the Howard County Tourney, Taylor once again saw itself staring up at a deficit and clawing away to get back on even ground.
The Comets, however, weathered the Titans surge this time around, holding on for a 53-48 Mid-Indiana Conference win.
Just a heck of a good game, and of course its even better that we came out on the winning side of the scoreboard, Eastern coach Mike Springer said.
Eastern (2-7, 1-2 MIC) jumped out to a double-digit lead over the first 16 minutes and managed to hold off Taylors second-half surge to earn its first conference win.
There was five minutes to go in the game and Taylor was running on us, Springer said. I said, Fellas, its going to come down to toughness. Our kids did a great job of moving the ball and handling the pressure those last five minutes when they were coming after us. Showing that mental and physical toughness made me happier than it did to get the win.
Twice in the final stanza, Taylor (3-7, 0-3) made it a three-point game, but each time Eastern made plays to make sure the Titans got no closer. When KeShawn Stablers free throw made it 42-39 with 5:49 showing, the Comets responded with back-to-back hoops from Noah Cope and Tristen Moyers. When Calvin Wheelers pull-up, 20-plus-footer swooshed through to make it 51-48 with :07 to play, Moyers answered by hitting both ends of a double bonus at the other end with :3.5 remaining.
When youre 1-7 and youve got one senior and youve got to play a team thats already beat you, and then youve got to turn around and play Tipton and Hamilton Heights, your kids can go in the tank, but we didnt, Springer said. We only had two practices this week thanks to Mother Nature, but we had the two best practices weve had this year.
The Comets showed few signs of rust early, opening the game on an 8-0 run and going up by as many as 13 points (15-2) on the way to a 21-10 lead at the first stop. Eastern knocked down four of its first five shots, including 3-of-3 from downtown, ripping the nets at a 56 percent clip in the first frame (9-of-16).
Comet sharpshooter Braden Gibson netted eight of his 14 total points in the first eight minutes. His back-to-back 3-balls put Eastern up 11-2 just 2:30 into the game.
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