STERLING The Newman Comets matched up with the Aquin Bulldogs for the second time this season Saturday night. The result was similar as the Comets defeated the Bulldogs 70-63 to capture the KSB Newman Christmas Classic.

Right off the bat, Newman (12-0) came out swinging. Senior John Payan, who scored 33-points Friday night, hit back-to-back 3s to give the Comets an early 8-2 lead.

Aquin (10-3) junior Aiden Chang, who was the Tournament MVP, rallied for eight straight points to help the Bulldogs secure a 16-11 lead after the first quarter. Chang finished with 28 points.

"I thought we did a nice job of keeping our composure," Newman coach Ray Sharp said. "We started out pretty good, and then they went on a nice run and took the lead on us. After that I think we settled down. We were rushing and weren't executing our offense, but once we started executing it really helped us."

In the second quarter a balanced Newman attack brought the Comets back into the game.

In a 5-minute stretch in the middle of the quarter, senior A.J. Sharp and sophomore Noah McCarty combined to score 11 points.Payan also chipped in a pair of 3s to add to the Comets' cause.

WIth time winding down before halftime, Aquin dialed up a man-to-man press.

Sharp received the ball and proceeded to wave everyone so he could go one-on-one to bring the ball up.

At half court, he dribbled behind his back to get around one defender, just in time to see another Bulldog flying at him. Once again, a smooth behind the back dribble got him around that defender. Finally, a spin move to get around a third defender led him to find an open man in the corner.

Payan was the open man, who hit nothing but net on the 3. Payan finished with 21 points. He made seven of his nine 3-point attempts.

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Comets knock off Aquin for second time this season