Comets stand tall before falling to No. 3-ranked Vikings 73-44

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Through three quarters of basketball play, the Charles City Comets stood tall against the Decorah Vikings.

Giving up height at every position, especially in the pivot area where 6-foot-10 junior Cael LaFrentz loomed, the Comets attacked the rim while trying to scale the Vikings’ mountainous frontline, and did some damage early with LaFrentz picking up his second foul before the second quarter.

The Comets continued to take it to LaFrentz, and to LaFrentz’s credit, it was he who didn’t back down as he continued to challenge all comers while blocking a prep career-high 11 shots and not picking up another foul all the way to the conclusion of his team’s 73-44 road win Friday in Comet Gym.

LaFrentz also had 31 points and 20 rebounds — nine of which were offensive — for the undefeated (8-0, 4-0 Northeast Iowa Conference) and Class 3A No. 3-ranked Vikings.

The Comets made things uncomfortable for LaFrentz early on with a collapsing zone that seemed to dare him to put the ball on the floor at the feet of shorter defenders. And though LaFrentz got his share of “swats”, the Comets swatted back on occasion, in particular 6-1 senior Akil Knighten who blocked two of LaFrentz’s shots.

But like in past recent games between the two teams, the Vikings established a pounding rhythm as the game progressed against a commonly upstart Comet squad, and pulled away while outscoring Charles City 26-6 in the fourth quarter.

Though LaFrentz’s dominance asserted itself more implacably in the second half, it was the quicksilver off-the-dribble guard play of senior Zachary Driscoll that really initiated Decorah’s scoring avalanche at the end as he finished with 17 points and dished out seven assists — most cashed in amid open-court opportunities.

The Comets had several brief leads during the first half thanks in part to the sharp-shooting of sophomore Henry Ruzicka, who led Charles City with 19 points including three 3-point field goals in the first half.

Guards Victor Ward and Ezekiel Causey each had three assists, and junior forward Jesus Villagomez came off the bench to grab a team-high five rebounds for the Comets (4-5, 3-1), who will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Hampton-Dumont for a non-conference game against the Bulldogs.

* In the previous girls junior varsity game, the Charles City Comets were able to chip away at a double-digit deficit against Decorah and pull within a possession (34-32) late into the game — the comeback was prompted when the Comets successfully broke Decorah’s full-court press for a series of layups — but the Vikings righted the ship just in time and won 39-32.

DECORAH 73, CHARLES CITY 44

Scoring By Quarters

DECORAH 11 17 19 26 — 73

CHARLES CITY 12 10 16 6 — 44

Individual Scoring

DECORAH — Zachary Driscoll 17, Noah Milburn 16, Cael LaFrentz 31, Gavin Groux 3, Carter Dihy 2, Peyton Webb 2, Keaton Nalean-Carlson 2.

CHARLES CITY — Victor Ward 4, Jordin Ritter 2, Ezekiel Causey 4, Henry Ruzicka 19, Akil Knighten 6, Riley Perez 3, Jesus Villagomez 4, Bennett Hansen 2.

RECORDS — Decorah 8-0 (4-0 Northeast Iowa Conference), Charles City 4-5 (3-1).