Head coach Justin Johnson led the Mayville State University men's basketball team into an afternoon contest with the Dordt College Defenders on Friday, October 29, 2010 at the Lewey Lee Fieldhouse in Mayville, N.D.

The Comets came out strong in the first half, building a healthy lead in the first five minutes and getting balanced scoring from everyone on the court. The Defenders weathered the early storm and played sound, fundamental basketball to get back into the game. At the end of the first half Dordt had taken a 44-38 lead after a strong finish to the half.

The second half got going and every time the Comets made a run, Dordt found a way to stop the momentum and hold on to about an eight point lead. With about four minutes left the Comets started to make their move to get back into the game permanently. Big time plays by everyone got MSU back into the game. Shavontae Samuels kept going strong to the basket creating for everyone around him. As the half was wearing down the Comets found themselves in some heavy foul trouble. Samuels, Christian Harris, Ross Aman, and Adam Edwards each had four fouls in the final minutes of the second half.

Edwards, a freshman from London England, hit a huge three for the Comets with under 30 seconds left in the second half to give the Comets the lead at 88-87. Edwards was steady in the game finishing with nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was in foul trouble for a good part of the second half but did his job when he was on the court.

Bryen Pyles, a junior guard from Bronx, New York, played a huge role in the comeback for the Comets off the bench. Intense defensive pressure was huge for the Comets forcing some big turnovers down the stretch by Pyles. His biggest moment of the game came with about 2:30 left in overtime. The Comets found themselves down two points in need of a defensive stop. Pyles pressured his man all the way up the floor forcing him into an errant pass going out of bounds giving the Comets the ball back. On the ensuing possession, Pyles set up in the corner and after a good drive by Samuels got the ball in the corner for a three and nailed it to almost bring the house down.

Shavontae Samuels led all scorers in this game with 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Samuels did a great job against the Defenders zone and opened up shots for his teammates as well. He was all over the court in this one finishing with 37 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Samuels hit a couple huge threes in the final minutes of the second half and in overtime. He dictated the tempo well and kept the Defenders defense off-balance all game.

The Comet defense did a great job forcing turnovers in this game causing 24 Dordt turnovers. The men did a good job pressuring the Dordt guards up the court causing bad passes and collecting 14 steals.

The Comets also had solid performances out of Christian Harris and Wiley Jiles. Harris, a senior guard from Las Vegas, Nevada had 11 points, two steals, two assists, and one block. Harris hit two big three-pointers in the second half to get the game into overtime.

Wiley Jiles, a junior from Minneapolis, Minnesota played a solid game finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Jiles biggest play came with 45 seconds left after a missed Comet free throw; he came up with a big time offensive rebound to give the Comets another possession and helped to kill the clock.

The Defenders did have a decent look at a potential game winning shot but Austin Katje's last second attempt fell off the front of the rim preserving an exciting win for the Comets.

Ross Aman played tough in this game scrapping for rebounds and loose balls all game long. Aman, a senior from Center, North Dakota finished the game with nine points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in overtime.

The Defenders had some great performances in this game as well they can be proud of. Trevor Walterstorff led the Defenders with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Walterstorff also added eight assists, eight rebounds, one block, and one steal. Wolterstorff hit a huge three with just over two seconds left with a defender right in his face to send to the game to overtime.

After Wolterstorff, the Defenders had a solid game from Austin Katje. Katje, a freshman from Orange City, Iowa played pretty well in his collegiate debut. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 40 minutes played. Jordan Vogel finished the night with 17 points, Chris Sievers and Shawn Keizer each added 13 for the Defenders.

Dordt College has a very talented basketball team led by head coach Ross Douma. This was a big win for Mayville State early on in the season. The Comets (3-0) (0-0) is off until Friday, November 5th, 2010 when they play Montana State University in an exhibition contest. Their next home game isn't until Friday, November 19th, 2010 when they host Minnesota State University-Moorhead.