The West Liberty High School Boys Basketball team concluded their week with two tough losses, falling 52-47 to the Tipton Tigers and 71-36 to Anamosa.
The Comets, now 1-4, consider themselves spoilers in the River Valley Conference after playing close games with conference foes, although losing four straight.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, the Comets loaded the bus and headed to Tipton. The 2-2 Tigers were looking to keep the momentum coming off a win the night before.
A back-and-forth opening period found the Comets trailing 17-14 after the first period. The Tigers opened the lead during the second frame, outscoring the Comets 25-11 and taking a 42-25 lead into the break.
The Comets’ resilience shone through coming out of the break as they held the Tigers to just two points defensively. They outscored the Tigers again in the final quarter but fell five points short, falling 52-47.
Junior Caleb Wulf led the Comets with 15 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Junior Jahsiah Galvan added 12 points and three rebounds in the losing effort. Hector Adames also hit double-figures with 11 points while collecting three rebounds and five steals. Ty Jones added five points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Comet scoring was rounded out by Chance Thrasher and Josh Perez-Echevarria who both had two.
The Comets played host to Anamosa on senior night on Friday, Dec. 18 but trailed 19-13 after the opening period. The Raiders widened the gap before half, taking a 43-19 lead to the break before Anamosa closed out the ball game comfortably, winning 71-36.
The Comets head into winter break 1-4 and will play Louisa Muscatine on Monday, Jan. 4, then West Branch on the Tuesday, Jan. 5 before taking on Iowa City Regina on the Jan. 8. All three games will take place at WLHS.