ALBANY - The basketball was being put into play after a timeout early in the second quarter Monday night when a coach on Belmont's bench implored the Braves to keep playing hard.
"There's a lot of game left," came the cry from the bench.
That wasn't really a good thing for the Braves.
Albany sophomore Isaiah Shell picked off a pass seconds later and coasted to the basket for an uncontested layup, just two of a multitude of fast-break points for the Comets in a 67-37 victory against the Braves in a Six Rivers Conference crossover contest.
Shell scored a game-high 23 points, junior Tyler VanDusen had 18 and senior Ty Mauerman added 10 as the Comets (6-4, 3-2 Six Rivers East) bounced back strong from division losses to Juda and Barneveld last week.
The rout came against a winless Belmont squad, but Albany coach Derik Doescher said his program took another step in its effort to put a 4-19 season behind it.
"We needed this to get our mindset back," Doescher said. "This was a nice win for us.
"Each game, each practice, I see us believing a little more. We have to find some more consistency, but we're coming along."
Starting games hasn't been a problem for the Comets, and that was certainly true against Belmont. Albany got seven points from Shell and six from senior point guard Gavin Ruef in bolting to a 20-5 lead after one quarter.
Shell hit his second and third 3-pointers and scored 11 more points in the second quarter, when Albany also received 10 points from VanDusen. The Comets used a 20-3 run to extend their cushion to 40-10 late in the first half en route to a 41-15 halftime lead.
After the break, Albany outscored the Braves just 25-22.
"The first half was good," Shell said. "But every game, we play two quarters pretty much."
"It's a tale of two halves for us right now," Mauerman concurred. "We come out hard and put up points in the first half and then something clicks off in our heads. Coach obviously preaches '32 minutes, 32 minutes,' and that's the way it's got to be."
The good news, Mauerman said, is the Comets are taking small steps each time out to improve the things that have been hurting them in second halves.
"A lot of times it's slowing the game down, making the right passes, knowing when to shoot," he said. "Compared to the beginning of the season, some of our guys are really improving. Tyler VanDusen is being much more aggressive."
It doesn't hurt to have a player like Shell, either. The wiry sophomore is averaging 19 points per game.
"He takes the pressure off the rest of us," Mauerman said. "When it comes down to it, he's the guy who can put the ball in the hole and get us going."
The Comets will take a step up in competition on Thursday, when Monticello visits. The Ponies had a five-game winning streak snapped Monday in a 59-47 loss at Shullsburg.
Doescher said the Comets are "a little ahead" of where he thought they'd be at this point.
Said Mauerman: "I think a lot of people are still doubting us yet. We're doing much better than last year and people are still doubting us. We still have a lot to prove."
"There's a lot of game left," came the cry from the bench.
That wasn't really a good thing for the Braves.
Albany sophomore Isaiah Shell picked off a pass seconds later and coasted to the basket for an uncontested layup, just two of a multitude of fast-break points for the Comets in a 67-37 victory against the Braves in a Six Rivers Conference crossover contest.
Shell scored a game-high 23 points, junior Tyler VanDusen had 18 and senior Ty Mauerman added 10 as the Comets (6-4, 3-2 Six Rivers East) bounced back strong from division losses to Juda and Barneveld last week.
The rout came against a winless Belmont squad, but Albany coach Derik Doescher said his program took another step in its effort to put a 4-19 season behind it.
"We needed this to get our mindset back," Doescher said. "This was a nice win for us.
"Each game, each practice, I see us believing a little more. We have to find some more consistency, but we're coming along."
Starting games hasn't been a problem for the Comets, and that was certainly true against Belmont. Albany got seven points from Shell and six from senior point guard Gavin Ruef in bolting to a 20-5 lead after one quarter.
Shell hit his second and third 3-pointers and scored 11 more points in the second quarter, when Albany also received 10 points from VanDusen. The Comets used a 20-3 run to extend their cushion to 40-10 late in the first half en route to a 41-15 halftime lead.
After the break, Albany outscored the Braves just 25-22.
"The first half was good," Shell said. "But every game, we play two quarters pretty much."
"It's a tale of two halves for us right now," Mauerman concurred. "We come out hard and put up points in the first half and then something clicks off in our heads. Coach obviously preaches '32 minutes, 32 minutes,' and that's the way it's got to be."
The good news, Mauerman said, is the Comets are taking small steps each time out to improve the things that have been hurting them in second halves.
"A lot of times it's slowing the game down, making the right passes, knowing when to shoot," he said. "Compared to the beginning of the season, some of our guys are really improving. Tyler VanDusen is being much more aggressive."
It doesn't hurt to have a player like Shell, either. The wiry sophomore is averaging 19 points per game.
"He takes the pressure off the rest of us," Mauerman said. "When it comes down to it, he's the guy who can put the ball in the hole and get us going."
The Comets will take a step up in competition on Thursday, when Monticello visits. The Ponies had a five-game winning streak snapped Monday in a 59-47 loss at Shullsburg.
Doescher said the Comets are "a little ahead" of where he thought they'd be at this point.
Said Mauerman: "I think a lot of people are still doubting us yet. We're doing much better than last year and people are still doubting us. We still have a lot to prove."
