Matthew Lounsberry mlounsberry@hillsdale.net mlounsberryHDN

READING Jonesville employed a more aggressive defense in the second half of Tuesdays game at Reading, which lifted the Comets to a 57-39 win over the Rangers.

At halftime, I told the guys lets get up a little more and make it tougher, said Jonesville coach Kirk Wright. That created a lot more turnovers in the second half. It really changed the game with more pressure in the second half.

The game sat tied at 23 as both teams exited the locker rooms for the third quarter, and the Comets full court pressure helped them open the frame on a 11-2 run.

It was a pretty physical game, and we kind of got wore out up front, said Reading coach Brett Kerspilo. We made some mental mistakes, and they played really aggressive defense.

We werent able to over come those mistakes. You start missing baskets and it kind of snowballs from there.

The teams went toe-to-toe for the remainder of the third quarter, as Jonesville took a 46-35 lead into the final frame.

The Comets defensive was suffocating in the fourth quarter, as Jonesville outscored the Rangers 11-4 to end the game.

For Reading, Thursday night was another frustrating example of a strong first half followed up by a disappointing second, a trend that has become a theme for their season.

Weve been working on it. What weve struggled with is weve had a quarter where we cant score, Kerspilo said. When we dont score, we lose our energy offensively.

Reading struggled to score early in the game as well, with Jonesville jumping to a 10-2 lead in the opening five minutes of the contest.

The Rangers rebounded to cut their deficit to 12-8 by the end of the first quarter, then took an 18-17 lead with 2:21 remaining in the half.

I always want to have a little more pressure on defense. It seems like we always start a little slow, Wright said.

Both teams ended the second quarter with three-point baskets, making it 23-23 before the Comets second half adjustments led them to victory.

Weve had moments all year where weve been good on defense. Now we need to carry it through a whole game, Wright said.

We can play with anybody if we play right. We have good enough players here. We just need to make sure we finish a game, play four quarters of defense.

Jonesville was led by senior point guard Jake Wilson with 21 points, five steals and four assists. Joel Benn pitched in a strong performance with 14 points, five steals, five rebounds and three assists.

Will Taylor had nine points and two steals, and Seth Young added eight points. Mitchell Beatty contributed three assists and three steals, while Seth Spahr added five rebounds.

Wright was pleased with his teams offensive balance.

Its how weve been playing lately. Our last game, Jake didnt lead us. Jake really is a pass-first guy, and we have other guys who will step up, he said.

If we get three or four guys every game to step up, we have a chance to finish out the season real strong going into districts.

The Comets return home for three straight games, as they look to enter the postseason on a hot streak.

We just have to keep playing every game. Were going home for our next three games in a row, which is huge, Wright said. We have to come out and try to win every game we can and go into districts with momentum.

Reading was led by freshman Nick Affholter with 12 points and seven rebounds. Cole Boyd scored 10 points.

Also for the Rangers, Corbin Hoover scored seven points, Alex Price scored six and Ben Affholter added four points and 11 rebounds.

Kerspilo remains confident in his young squad, and hopes the lessons learned from throughout the season lead to a mature, dangerous team come district play.

Were hungry. Weve just have to put together four quarters. A lot of it is gaining confidence. We just got to have a night where we figure it out, get over that hump, he said.

I think well get it. Im still excited about district. The guys are still into it.

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Second half 'D' lifts Comets over Rangers - The Hillsdale Daily News