ALBANY — Albany defeated Johnson Creek 53-38 in its season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 26, much like the 2022-23 season when head coach Kurt Soderberg was in his first year. Now in his third year with a developed system and tenured players, Soderberg and the Comets are starting to turn the program around.

“It feels really good. We’ve been stacking pennies since day one from my freshman and sophomore years,” senior Nate Stokstad said. “This has been really cool to see the progress we’ve been able to make and to see a payoff, finally.”

A key to the Comets’ play is their zone, as it was able to keep the Bluejays out of system for the first few minutes of the game. With size and length, Albany forced Johnson Creek to settle for 3-pointers in its first four possessions — all of which missed.

“That was our plan, to use our length to try and disrupt them,” Soderberg said. “This corner shot is not easy, so we know when we play that specific zone, that we can force them to shoot from corners. Typically that’s helpful for us.”

Although its defense was strong, Albany struggled to score itself. Kaden Zurfluh’s 3-pointer four minutes into the contest were the first points of the game. By that time, Johnson Creek’s threes started to fall. Hayden Wagner and Tanner Herman’s back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Bluejays an 8-5 lead. 

Albany aided Johnson Creek with turnovers, as Herman and Jonathan Kamuchey turned steals into points. Brady Fincutter doubled up the Comets 14-7 as he got his own missed 3-pointer and scored from the block.

Trailing 19-10 with the half winding down, Albany went on a 10-point run. During the stretch, Stokstad’s defender left him alone at the top of the key, and, seeing his opportunity, Stokstad dropped the uncontested three. The rally ended with a corner, buzzer-beating three from Ty Durtschi, giving the Comets a 20-19 lead going into the locker room.

“One of our assistants called a set, and we got a good look for Ty,” Soderberg said. “He hit the three to go up one. That was huge.”

Just as they ended the first half, the Comets made another 3-pointer to begin the second — another one from Stokstad.

“I’ve been shooting a lot in the gym, so I’m just able to have the confidence,” Stokstad said. “My teammates set me up and helped me a lot.”

But back-to-back scores from Fincutter — a 3-pointer and goaltending — gave Johnson Creek a slim 24-23 lead. That’s when Tyler Patchen knocked down a 3-pointer to excite the home crowd and give his team the 26-24 advantage. From that point on, Albany didn’t trail.

The Comets played unselfish basketball to extend their lead. Cody Pryce drove to the baseline, kicked out to Durtschi, who skipped a pass to Zurfluh at the top of the key for a wide-open three. Zurfluh’s bucket made it a 34-26 game.

“That is something that we work on all the time,” Soderberg said of making quick passes to find the open man. “It’s just a feeling that they develop, so there’s nothing magical to it. It’s very unselfish play, and we will not tolerate guys that aren’t team-first. They won’t be in a jersey. Every guy you see on that bench from manager up, they all believe in being part of the team. So that leads to that kind of play.”

Three minutes later, Durtschi sank another 3-pointer to give Albany a double-digit lead. The Comets maintained that lead down to the stretch, where Soderberg reminded his team about time and score — only easy layups.

“We just wanted to be very tough and selective,” Soderberg said. “If we have a lead, it’s close and you’re gassed, just you can control the tempo on offense. You can’t on defense, so it’s okay to throttle back. I don’t care if we win 32-28 or 78-58, let’s just win the game.”

The slower pace forced Johnson Creek to foul with just over a minute left in order to gain possession. Down the stretch, Durtschi, Stokstad and Patchen went to the line for double bonus and went a combined 5-for-6 to secure the win.

“You never know what you’re going to get the first game,” Soderberg said. “I feel good about our seniors and their leadership.”