Friday night's Senior Night game at Halifax County High School was just what the Comets boys basketball team needed and wanted.

Playing their third game of the week and having come off of a tough game in a road win over Dan River High School the night before, the Comets needed a win and needed to do it without having to expend a lot of extra energy.

They succeeded on both fronts.

The Comets took control of the game with eight unanswered points at the end of the first quarter to take a nine-point lead and breezed to a 57-19 win over the Cougars in Friday night's Piedmont District game at Halifax County High School.

"It was a really good game for us," remarked Comets Head Coach Sterling Williams after the win that improved his team's record to 13-5 on the season.

"I was wondering how they were going to come out after having played a tough game against Dan River last night (Thursday night). They came out ready to play. They were excited. It was their last Friday night home game, and they showed up and put it (the game) away in the first quarter."

James Smith Jr. led the Comets in scoring with 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Zion Bailey followed with 12 points, nine of which came in the first half. Ford Morrison chipped in eight points, half of them coming in the first half.

Smith and Bailey each had three 3-point baskets and accounted for six of the seven 3-point baskets the Comets had in the game.

Patrick County High School (8-11 overall) led early by as many as four points as Seth Scott kept the Cougars close with a trio of 3-point baskets in the first six and a half minutes of the game. The Comets stole the momentum with eight unanswered points in the last minute and a half of the quarter with Smith and Bailey hitting back-to-back 3-point baskets, and reserve Jamal Brandon hitting a layup off of a steal to propel the Comets to a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Halifax County High School's pressure man-to-man defense kicked in hard after that. The Comets limited the Cougars to just two field goals and a total of eight points over the remaining three quarters and quickly pulled away.

The Comets' defense forced Patrick County High School into turning the ball over 15 times including 11 times over the last three quarters of the game.

"The guys really showed up tonight defensively," Williams pointed out.

"Holding a team to 19 points for the game is really showing up. That was saying we played everybody.

"We played good team defense," added Williams.

"Everybody was rotating well."

The Comets led 31-13 at halftime and outscored the Cougars 11-2 over the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage to 44-15. After Ford Morrison scored on a layup after a steal with 3:49 left in the third quarter to produce the 29-point lead, Williams took him and the remaining starters on the floor off of the court and played reserves the rest of the way.

Williams said he was pleased with the team's offensive effort, especially the patience that was shown.

"The guys really moved the ball around," noted Williams.

"We shared the ball well tonight, giving up the okay shots to get a really good shot, and it paid off for us."

Scott led Patrick County High School in scoring with nine points, all coming with his trio of 3-point shots in the first quarter. Matt Amos followed with five points.

The Comets face another tough three-game week next week with a Monday night road game against GW in Danville, a Tuesday night road game against Tunstall High School and a Thursday night home game against Martinsville High School that will be played at Halifax County Middle School.

"This win (over Patrick County High School) gets everybody feeling good about things going into Monday's game against GW," Williams said.

"We know it's going to be a hostile environment. We're going up there looking for a little payback."

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Comets breeze to 57-19 Senior Night win over Patrick County HS ... - YourGV.com