Zach Milholin Mackinaw City Mackinaw City's boys basketball team remains tied for first place in the Northern Lakes Conference after victories over Vanderbilt 61-42 Friday, February 2, and 76-60 at Alba Tuesday, January 30.

The Comets and Ellsworth are both 7-1 in the league. Remaining conference games for Mackinaw City are, on the road, Wolverine and Ellsworth, and at home, Harbor Light Christian and Boyne Falls.

"We played well in both games as a team," said Comets Coach Garth Law. "I felt we moved the ball on offense and took good shots."

Defense Lifts Comets

Over Yellowjackets

During the home win over Vanderbilt the Comets defense held the Yellowjackets to single digit scoring in the first three quarters.

Mackinaw City, 11-2 on the season, led 12-8 after the first eight minutes and outscored Vanderbilt 19-8 in the second quarter for a 31-16 halftime advantage.

The Comets increased the margin to 44- 23 with a 13-7 score in the third quarter before the Yellowjackets held a 19-17 scoring edge in the final period.

Comets Stats: Klaus Jaggi, 14 points, 20 rebounds; Barry Paquet, 14 points; Trevor Closs, 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, five steals; Zach Milholin, nine points, eight rebounds; Logan Paquet, nine points; Kevin Darrow, four points; Nick Dullack, one point.

Balanced Rebounding, Scoring

Key to Win OverWildcats

Balanced rebounding and scoring was key in the Comets road win at Alba.

Mackinaw City held a 22-13 lead after the first eight minutes before both teams scored 12 points in the second quarter for a 34-25- halftime score.

The Comets outscored the Wildcats 23-19 in the third quarter to build the lead to 57-44 and closed out the conference game with a 19-16 advantage in the final period.

Comets Stats: Logan Paquet, 22 points, six treys, five rebounds; Barry Paquet, 15 points, three rebounds; Trevor Closs, 14 points, six rebounds; Kevin Darrow, 11 points, five rebounds; Klaus Jaggi, eight points; Nick Dullack, six points, seven rebounds.

Mackinaw City will travel to Wolverine Friday, January 9, and play host to Harbor Light Christian Friday, January 16.