The Comet bowlers made short work of Warwick last Wednesday, Jan. 25, blanking the Warriors to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"Coming in we were in a three-way tie with Hempfield and Township," said head coach Chris Vital. "We have Township next and Ephrata and McCaskey after that. Only the top two teams make the playoffs. We need to take care of business."

Josh Stock's perfect game in the first game of the afternoon set the tone. The senior finished with a pair of 200 games and settled for a 715 series but it was Lacey Slaymaker with the top series of the day. She rolled a 268, a 211, and a 258 for a 737.

Corinne Smith's 639 followed with Eva Brubaker also going over the 600 mark, firing a 229 in the final game for a 613. Chris Hull rounded out the top five with a 595 series.

SWIMMING

The Comet swimmers traveled to undefeated Hempfield for an evening meet Tuesday, January 24, but couldn't pull off an upset. The girls lost 111-48 while the boys fell short 121-39.

The lopsided score did not deny some top performances by the Comets. Grace Bresch (50 free), Kenzie Wolpert (100 free) and Bella Fulmer (100 back) all grabbed wins as did Brayden Clow with the top 50 free time.

Kari Anderson chipped in with a second in the 100 breaststroke while Ellie Baldridge backed Bresch with a second in the 50 free.

Po Linares added a solid day with a second in the 100 breaststroke and a third in the 200 free. Noah Reen was second in the 100 back and Derek Thomas picked up a third in the 400 free.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Looking to split the series against McCaskey, the Comets appeared poised enough to do just that. They were down 13-12 in the first, 23-18 at the half and were within one, 32-31 with eight minutes to play. With both teams knocking down a pair of threes, the hosts pulled away, connecting on 5-of-11 free throws, and winning the quarter 17-11 for a hard-fought 49-42 victory.

The Comets were within two with 1:20 left when McCaskey drained a big trey. Manor missed an open look and scrambled after that.

"We had to foul and tried to knock down some threes to get back in it but it didn't happen," said head coach Mike Glackin. "It was closer than the final score looked. We struggled to keep their bigs out of the paint and off the boards. But we did force a lot of turnovers, and I thought we did a good job of attacking the rim. It was also, by far, our best effort of running an organized press break. Getting the win against Solanco on Tuesday was nice but this was a more complete game, despite the loss."

Alayzha Twyman hit a pair of triples and led with 11 points. Lilly Rineer settled for 10, eight coming in the second half. "I thought Lilly made some nice strides defensive and she going to the hoop making a better effort to finish strong and not avoid contact at the rim."

Izzy Kligge also netted a pair of treys and added eight points.

Tuesday, the 24th, the Comets hosted second place Cedar Crest (5-2) and slipped to 1-6 in Section One with a 56-34 loss. A slow first half proved to be the difference in this one. The Falcons, with seven treys on the night, sprinted to a 31-8 first half and held on. The Comets regrouped after the break and won the second half 26-25 but it wasn't enough.

Carley Groff netted eight points, including Manor's only two triples, to lead the hosts. B. Groff, Twyman and Paityn Smith each added six.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

After suffering seven losses in eight attempts, including six straight, the Comets regrouped. Their 61-54 win at Dallastown sparked a run of five straight wins, including Fridays', Jan. 20, 64-52 triumph over visiting McCaskey. That win opened the second half of Section One play and avenged a 22-point loss suffered back on Dec. 16.

"When we play well, we're able to score," said head coach Larry Bellew. "Against McCaskey we were able to convert and score. Ethan Benne had a great night with 26 points and 11 rebounds but we also had balance. Devin Figueroa elevated his play with 14 and Deshawn Stanley added 10 for three guys in double figures. And Dhamir Wesley had eight despite missing a large chunk of the second half with foul trouble."

Down 12-10 in the first quarter, McCaskey pushed out to a 35-27 halftime lead after winning the second frame 23-17. But just as quickly, the tables turned. The Comets, with eight points each from both Figueroa and Benne, dropped in 20 points, held the visitors to six and regained the lead, 47-41. Tied at 39-all, Manor finished the quarter on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Figueroa and Benne combined for 11 of Manor's 17 fourth quarter points and limited McCaskey to 11 in pulling off the upset.

"Dom Guzman and Nate Schmidtke played complimentary roles in the win," added Bellew. "Dom led with six assists and Nate had a putback on a missed free throw in the fourth that I felt like put the game away.

"We outscored them 37-17 in the second half. It was a great team win."

Deshawn McFadden, who led McCaskey with 18 in their first meeting, was held to seven.

Less than 24 hours later, the Comets' win streak came to a crashing halt. Cedar Cliff poured in five second quarter triples, held the Comets to four points, and extended their 10-8 first quarter lead to a 32-12 lead at the break.

Manor played tougher in the second half (both teams settled for 17 points each) but the damage was done.

Benne, with 13 points, was the only double-digit scorer. Dhamir Wesley added eight.

Tuesday, January 24, in a battle to move into second third place in the Section One standings, Cedar Crest swept the series with a 53-36 home win.

Down just three in the first quarter, the Comets, who shot a dismal 7-of-20 from the charity stripe, were outscored 28-15 over the middle frames and couldn't bounce back. Benne (16) and Wesley accounted for 26 of Manor's 36 points total.

WRESTLING

In a match that featured just seven wrestled bouts, the Comets made short work at Cedar Crest, dominating the Falcons 44-18. Manor won six of those seven bouts, four via fall. Gavin Boland (114), Gave Midile (121), Joshua Zook (152) and Teagen Rogers (215) all recorded first period falls with Zook decking Aden Rebuck in just 16 seconds.

Travis Clawson (127) added a 16-1 major and Evan Buswell claimed a 6-4 decision at 139 to wrap up a quick trip to Lebanon.