ALBANY - Comets' big man Bryce Hulbert might not have expected his team's non-conference game Monday with Madison Abundant Life to turn into a tale of two halves.
That's what happened as Hulbert and junior Boomer Detra combined to score 48 points in Albany's 72-52 win over the Challengers.
Hulbert scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as the Comets pounded the ball inside and turned up the defensive pressure.
"Our defense and rebounding picked up a lot," Hulbert said. "Tyler Conley did a great job shutting down (Brandon) Nelson. He killed us in the first half."
Abundant Life's Robbie Harrison grabbed an offensive rebound on Brandon Nelson's missed jumper and scored on a putback to trim the Comets' lead to 36-35 with 5 minutes, 52 seconds to go in the third quarter. Albany (2-3, 1-1 Six Rivers East) dominated from there with a 17-1 spurt highlighted by Detra's 3-pointer from the top of the key, then Hulbert scored on a fastbreak layup to give the Comets a 46-35 lead.
One possession later, Hulbert scored down low and was fouled. He hit the free throw to give the Comets a 49-36 lead. Hulbert scored on the next possession and senior Tyler Conley hit two free throws on a technical foul to extend the lead to 53-36. Detra finished with 23 points and Conley added 14.
"I think it may not show up in the boxscore, but I think Tyler Conley was the best player on the floor," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "The timeliness of his shots was big and his defense was huge."
Hulbert took advantage of his scoring opportunities in the second half, but gave credit to his teammates for making it look easy.
"I felt like I was scoring when I needed to and when I got the ball in good position," he said. "We got good layups."
Albany used a press early on to jump out to an 8-4 lead after Detra drilled a 3-pointer with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
The Comets used a 7-2 run at the start of the second quarter to open up a nine-point lead. The run was highlighted by Hulbert, who scored down low to give the Comets a 23-14 lead. Every time the Comets made a run, the Challengers answered.
Abundant Life's Nelson hit a 3-pointer and the Challengers got eight first-half points from sophomore Jordan Rockwell to slice the Comets' halftime lead to 35-31.
Detra was confident the Comets could come up with a third quarter surge, he said.
"We just had to pick up our defensive intensity and rebounding," Detra said. "That was killing us in the first half. I knew our team would step up, do it and get the job done."
Doescher stressed the importance of playing smart in transition at halftime after eight first-half turnovers.
"I wanted them to push the ball up the floor because they (Abundant Life) don't have a lot of numbers," Doescher said. "It has to be a controlled push. When we are able to push it up and Bryce and Boomer can take guys off the dribble, it looks a lot better."
The Comets are in a stretch of three games in nine days. Doescher said there weren't many basketball fans who had high expectations for the Comets after losing seven seniors including every starter from last year's team.
"Our goal is to win three of these four and get back to 4-4," Doescher said.
That's what happened as Hulbert and junior Boomer Detra combined to score 48 points in Albany's 72-52 win over the Challengers.
Hulbert scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as the Comets pounded the ball inside and turned up the defensive pressure.
"Our defense and rebounding picked up a lot," Hulbert said. "Tyler Conley did a great job shutting down (Brandon) Nelson. He killed us in the first half."
Abundant Life's Robbie Harrison grabbed an offensive rebound on Brandon Nelson's missed jumper and scored on a putback to trim the Comets' lead to 36-35 with 5 minutes, 52 seconds to go in the third quarter. Albany (2-3, 1-1 Six Rivers East) dominated from there with a 17-1 spurt highlighted by Detra's 3-pointer from the top of the key, then Hulbert scored on a fastbreak layup to give the Comets a 46-35 lead.
One possession later, Hulbert scored down low and was fouled. He hit the free throw to give the Comets a 49-36 lead. Hulbert scored on the next possession and senior Tyler Conley hit two free throws on a technical foul to extend the lead to 53-36. Detra finished with 23 points and Conley added 14.
"I think it may not show up in the boxscore, but I think Tyler Conley was the best player on the floor," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "The timeliness of his shots was big and his defense was huge."
Hulbert took advantage of his scoring opportunities in the second half, but gave credit to his teammates for making it look easy.
"I felt like I was scoring when I needed to and when I got the ball in good position," he said. "We got good layups."
Albany used a press early on to jump out to an 8-4 lead after Detra drilled a 3-pointer with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
The Comets used a 7-2 run at the start of the second quarter to open up a nine-point lead. The run was highlighted by Hulbert, who scored down low to give the Comets a 23-14 lead. Every time the Comets made a run, the Challengers answered.
Abundant Life's Nelson hit a 3-pointer and the Challengers got eight first-half points from sophomore Jordan Rockwell to slice the Comets' halftime lead to 35-31.
Detra was confident the Comets could come up with a third quarter surge, he said.
"We just had to pick up our defensive intensity and rebounding," Detra said. "That was killing us in the first half. I knew our team would step up, do it and get the job done."
Doescher stressed the importance of playing smart in transition at halftime after eight first-half turnovers.
"I wanted them to push the ball up the floor because they (Abundant Life) don't have a lot of numbers," Doescher said. "It has to be a controlled push. When we are able to push it up and Bryce and Boomer can take guys off the dribble, it looks a lot better."
The Comets are in a stretch of three games in nine days. Doescher said there weren't many basketball fans who had high expectations for the Comets after losing seven seniors including every starter from last year's team.
"Our goal is to win three of these four and get back to 4-4," Doescher said.
