Indians bring home third from Comet Classic

VELMA - No one can accuse the Comanche Indians of not giving the fans their money’s worth.

The Indians finished the Comet Classic over the weekend in nail-biting fashion by taking host Velma-Alma to the limit before losing on Friday night. Then they scored on a last-second shot on Saturday in overtime to defeat Davis and bring home third place. 

The Indians also went to the wire against Walters in the opening round on Thursday before winning by five points.

“It was a fantastic tournament,” said Anthony Bowie, Comanche head coach. “We appreciate the Velma coaches and administrators having us over here this year. We didn’t know what to expect coming over here because we feel like we’re pretty connected with Velma because they are in Stephens County, they’re just down the street and we have a few of our kids that left Comanche and came over here.”

Saturday

Comanche 42

Davis 41 (OT)

Colby Shannon banked in the winning basket on a layup with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Indians the win.

Comanche had jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter only to see Davis start the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take the lead in less than two minutes. That would be the last points for the Wolves, however, as the Indians scored the last seven points, including three-pointers by Jiovanni Demry and Easton Bowen.

Davis would take the momentum in the third quarter as Comanche went cold from the field. The Wolves outscored the Indians 11-5 to take a 25-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

The lead would switch hands four times in the fourth quarter. Davis held a 35-32 lead at the two-minute mark before Bowen was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:36 to go. He cooly sank all three free-throw attempts. Neither team would score again, sending the game into overtime.

Davis scored the first four points of overtime before Shannon hit a key three-pointer to cut the lead down to one. 

The Wolves pushed the lead back to three points with 1:33 to go, but Comanche was not done. Bowen hit 2-of-4 free throws over the next 30 seconds to make it a one-point game. It was Shannon’s turn again to step up as he drove the lane and banked in the winning points.

It was not the Indians' best performance of the tournament, but they found a way to win, which was an important step for the coach going forward.

“What it means going forward is that we feel like we can play and compete against any team in Class 3A, despite our size or anything else,” Bowie said. “We have the offense, we just missed some shots that we got a real good look at. We feel confident against anyone we play. We have great coaches. We have a good plan and we’re developing players into doing the best we can do.”

Scoring

Comanche (2-4): Colby Shannon, 16; Jiovanni Demry, 11; Easton Bowen, 9; Brycen Lassley, 6 

Davis (2-2): Dalton Hefley, 16; Wyatt Fielding, 15; Braxdyn Griffin, 5; Grayson Bumgarner, 3; Isaac Lewis, 2

Friday

Velma-Alma 56

Comanche 52

The Indians took the Class A No. 9 team to the brink, but the Comets would hold on at the end to advance to the championship game.

The teams had a slugfest throughout the game. neither team led by more than seven points with much of the game played as a one-possession contest. There were eight lead changes and three ties along the way. The Comets, however, would take the final lead early in the third quarter and never surrender it the rest of the game. 

Comanche led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and Velma-Alma led 29-27 at the half. The Comets outscored the Indians 15-10 in the third quarter to take a 44-37 advantage into the final quarter. 

Comanche got within a bucket twice in the fourth. The first time was on a steal and layup by Jiovanni Demry with 3:39 to go and the second time on a Demry basket with 48.4 seconds to go. 

Scoring

Comanche: Colby Shannon, 18; Easton Bowen, 13; Jiovanni Demry, 12; Bryson Goedhart, 5; T.C. Lindsey, 2; Brycen Lassley, 2

Velma-Alma: Jackson Lohrer, 25; Kellan Biffle, 11; Talon Quick, 10; Brodric Spigner, 4; Joe Zavala, 3; Gunter Sain, 3;