ARGYLE — Throughout the first 14 minutes of the Jan. 18 Six Rivers East battle between Argyle and Albany, it was the host team that had the momentum. 

A mix of turnovers and defensive stops kept Albany’s offense from catching fire, and Argyle senior Caden Hartwig all but took over on offense, scoring 12 points and guiding his team to a 21-13 advantage.

That’s when Albany sophomore Carson Brewer decided to take over. Brewer, the Comets’ leading scorer, stole the ball in back-to-back succession, leading to four quick points. A couple of defensive stops by the Comets, and the Orioles were on their heels. 

By the time the clock struck zero to send the teams to the locker room for halftime, Albany led 22-21 — a 9-0 run over the final few minutes.

The second half was a dogfight, with Albany outscoring Argyle 38-34 to secure the five-point win. 

Brewer hit three of his team’s six 3-pointers on the night, including two in the second half. He was 6-for-9 at the free throw line down the stretch as well to help close out the game — the rest of the Comets combined to go 0-for-5 from the free throw line in the game. Teammate Drew Sertle added 10 points, and Nate Stokstad, a 6-foot freshman in the post, scored seven points — including a 3-pointer in the first half.

Hartwig finished with 19 points to lead Argyle, while Max Godfrey scored 15, Ike Waage 12 and Caden Stoeger eight.

The Orioles didn’t hit a 3-pointer all game, and finished just 5-for-11 from the free throw line.

Up next for Albany (2-13, 2-4 Six Rivers East) is conference leader Monticello (7-7, 6-0) on Jan. 21, then a game at Juda (0-13, 0-6) Jan. 27 before hosting Barneveld (3-11, 3-2) Feb. 1.

Argyle (2-10, 1-3) was set to host Juda Jan. 21, then travel to Black Hawk (6-10, 4-1) on Jan. 17 and Barneveld on Jan. 29.