At home Tuesday the Comets crossed over with Section Two foe Solanco and secured its fifth win over the last six games with a 57-37 win.

A bucket by Solanco's Gavin Cox with 2:15 left in the first quarter tied the game at 9-9 but Manor went on a 10-3 run that included back-to-back 3's by Ethan Benne (12 points), to lead 19-12. They never looked back.

Benne (6'4") along with Dhamir Wesley (11 points) and Nate Schmidtke, both 6'5", controlled the boards and sparked Manor's transition game with quick passes up the floor to their speedy guards, Devin Figueroa and DeShawn Stanley, who both scored 11 points. Solanco had no answer.

The Mules cut the lead to ten early in the third quarter, but Manor won the half, 30-21 to pull away.

The boys were coming off a thrilling triple OT victory at Manheim Township Friday night, Jan. 13.

With a 10-2 lead early, the Comets were headed in the right direction, but the Streaks countered with a 24-0 run to grab a 26-10 lead. "In a span of a minute, we hit back-to-back threes and cut the lead to ten at the half," said Bellew. "That was huge."

The Comets flipped the score in the second half, outscoring the hosts by the exact same margin. Aidan Mattern's 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in regulation, tied the game at 50-50.

The Streaks took a five-point lead in the first OT before the Comets responded, first tying the game and then taking a one-point lead. That didn't hold. Both teams settled for 9 points and another tie, 59-59.

"We did get a good look at the buzzer but couldn't drop the shot," said Bellew. "We also had the opportunity to win at the end of the second OT with the ball under our basket with 2.5 left but again, could not convert."

Finally, the Comets forged ahead, convincingly winning the third OT 10-2.

"Nate reentered the game in that third OT when Dhamir (13 points, 9 in the second half) started cramping," Bellew recalled. "He was solid on the glass, saving us a possession on offense and limiting them to one shot."

Aiden Mattern, who finished with 17, also went 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the last two extra periods and scored Manor's only two points in the second OT.

Benne tossed in a season-high 26 points, 14 in regulation.

"I was proud of our perseverance despite some struggles and never being able to get over the hump until we absolutely needed it," said Bellew. "We also knocked down some key free throws."

The Comets hit 18-of-23 free throws for the game.

SWIMMING

The Comet swimmers hit the pool Thursday, January 12, and posted mixed results in a home meet against Cedar Crest. The girls won two of three relays to help pull out a 90-80 win over the Falcons. The boys also won two of three relays but managed just two individual firsts in a 93-59 loss.

Freshman Kenzie Wolpert was the top point-getter with firsts in the 100 free and 200 IM contributions to both relays. She teamed with Ellie Baldrige, Kari Anderson, and Grace Bresch in the 200 medley and with Brianna Esh, Bella Fulmer and Anderson in the 400 free.

Spencer Barry, with the top time in the 100 fly and Brayden Clow, winner of the 100 free, also contributed to the 200 medley (with Noah Reen and Pol Linares) and the 400 free relays (with Reen and Derek Thomas).

Last Tuesday the teams battled Warwick where the boys almost pulled off an upset. The visitors prevailed 72-69. The Warwick girls' team also finished on top, 94-63.

"We knew the boys meet would be close because we had similar numbers," said head coach Eric Urban. "We swam well and had some season and lifetime bests. We won both the 100 back (Clow) and 100 breaststroke (Linares) to keep it close. Even with winning the 400 relay we felt short, but it was an exciting race watching Derek Thomas hold off their anchor."

Barry, Reen, Clow and Thomas won that final event with a 3:46.32, nipping Warwick's 3:48.46. Other winners included Clow in the 100 fly and the 200-medley team of Reen, Barry, Clow and Linares.

Wolpert, with top times in the 200 free and 100 breaststroke, picked up Manor's only wins on the girls' side.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Losses are never easy to digest, especially the lopsided variety, but often, when they're looked at closely, they aren't as bad as the final score appears. Such was the case with the girls' 42-12 loss to Manheim Township on a very unlucky Friday the 13th.

The Comets were down just 9-4 in the first quarter. Both teams scored two points in the fourth, but it was Township's 31-6 run through the middle frames that sealed the deal.

"We actually had more possessions," noted head coach Mike Glackin. "We shot 5-for-48 from the field, and they were 14-for-41. And we only had three more turnovers, 23-20. We just had a terrible shooting night. Township caused some of that with their physical play and aggressive defense."

On the plus side, Paityn Smith played tough on the ball defense, recording five steals and zero turnovers. Joelle Krosen banged inside for 15 rebounds, nine on the offensive end. Both finished with four points each. Izzy Kligge added six steals as the Comets battled from start to finish.

In Quarryville Tuesday, January 17, the visitors outscored the hosts in every quarter by four points or less and came away with their second win of the year against Solanco, 43-31.

Alayzha Twyman nailed three triples on the night and finished with 11 points. Rineer followed with nine, scoring six in Manor's 12-8 run through the fourth quarter. Smith scored all eight of her points in the first while Kligge knocked down a pair of treys to help pace the scoring.

BOWLING

With a 244 and a 243, Josh Stock rolled a match-high 675 to lead the Comets to a 7-0 victory over Cedar Crest Thursday, Jan. 12. Eva Brubaker chipped in with a 619 and rolled a 250 in the final game, the highest individual game of the day.

Lacey Slaymaker rolled a 204 and finished with a 575 series. Chris Hull and Corinne Smith were two pins apart, earning a 550 and 548 respectively.

Last Tuesday, however, the Comets dropped a tough one, suffering their first shutout of the season against Hempfield. All five of the Knights starters rolled over 600 with Priest McKensie topping everyone with a 671 series. Stock, with a 220 and a 247, led the Comets with a 634 series.

"Hempfield is the real deal," said head coach Chris Vital. "This one hurt a bit, putting us in a three-way tie for first with four tough matches left. Eighteen consecutive years of making playoffs is on the line. Things can turn on a dime and my teams have come through many times before. It's go time."

WRESTLING

In Section One action Wednesday, Jan. 18 the Comets won just five of 13 bouts against McCaskey and dropped a 41-27 result at home.

Manor fell behind 18-0 before four straight wins put them in front 21-18. Riley Evans pinned at 107, Gavin Boland won by forfeit at 114, Gabriel Midile worked a 6-2 decision at Travis Clawson (127) added a fall in 1:35.

The Red Tornado, however, won five of the last six bouts to pull away. Joshua Zook's fall over Eh Klu Soe at 152 rounded out the Comet scoring.

CORRECTION

In last week's wrestling article, it was incorrectly reported that Chris Rachor secured Manor's victory over Solanco with a match-winning fall at heavyweight. The correct report should have read that Carter Rachor earned the final pin of the night to propel the Comets to a 38-33 victory.