Comets lose at home, 58-56, to Rossville
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It was supposed to be a celebration amid a season of struggling for the Eastern Comets. But Homecoming night didn't bring victory to Greentown, as the home team dropped a heartbreaker to Rossville, 58-56, on Jan. 31.
It was Eastern's game to lose, as the boys built an eight-point lead through the first half of play. The Comets led 36-28 at the break.
The Hornets erased all of those gains in the third quarter, outscoring Eastern, 19-10, in the period and taking a one-point lead into the final stanza.
The two teams played nip and tuck in the closing minutes, as neither squad could create distance on the scoreboard, and as the clock brought the game to a close, the Comets simply couldn't find the hoop to push the game into overtime or a last-second win.
The Eastern fans did enjoy some solid performances from the team during the night. Junior Colton Lindsay led the Comets with 22 points, six rebounds, and a paiur of steals.
Senior Perry Kochensparger joined his teammate in double-digit scoring with 12 points, and senior Kyan Hannah contributed 10 points.
Rossville leaned heavily on its sophomore star Brayden Thiele-Hahn, who dropped 31 points on the Comets; a rate well above his 18.2 points-per-game season average. His 6-10 success rate from behind the arc definitely made the difference. He also hauled in 10 rebounds.
Eastern recovered from the loss with a win over Wabash on Feb. 1, but dropped games to Wes-Del and Northfield, leaving its record at 6-10. The Comets travel to Clinton Central (1-16) on Friday night, then return home on Feb. 15 to face Daleville (4-11).
In fact, Eastern has a real chance to finish the regular season on an impressive winning streak as it doesn't face a school with a winning record until the season finale on Feb. 28 against Carroll.
See additional photos from this game, along with a gallery from the junior varsity game and a Homecoming crowd and cheer squad gallery, courtesy of Goad Sports Media, on the Lantern's Facebook page and group.