Newman senior guard guides team to quick start against Marcos

POLO – Mike Lee was outstanding, and his Newman Comets’ teammates were pretty good, too.

Led by Lee, Newman took control early and rode an efficient attack to a 71-58 nonconference boys basketball win Thursday night at Polo.

Lee made his first six shots and scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. The Comets (15-9), who never trailed, bolted to an 8-1 advantage.

Newman torched the Marcos’ 2-3 zone to start the game. The Comets hit their first five shots and eight of their first nine in building a quick 20-13 advantage with 2:49 left in the opening quarter.

Lee poured in 11 points in the game-opening blitz, including hitting a pair of 3-pointers and converting a three-point play. Teammate Tim Wilson scored eight of his 14 points in the first quarter.

“I don’t know why they played a 2-3 against us,” Lee said. “I think our best offense is against the 2-3. They didn’t seem to have an answer on defense.”

“It seemed like [the Marcos] were so focused inside, Mike got a lot of open looks, and he knocked them down,” Newman coach Ray Sharp said. “We executed very well and got great shots.”

Michael Geary and Polo (11-12) did their best to keep pace. Geary scored eight of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter, keeping the Marcos close. Newman led 23-17 after one quarter.

The Comets took their first double-digit lead at 30-20 on a 3 by Lee with 4:25 left in the first half. Lee was 4-for-4 from long range.

Newman led 42-35 at the half, thanks to a buzzer-beating field goal by Jeremy Wilson. Michael Geary had 16 points at the break. The Comets’ Kyle Moore scored eight of his 10 points in the first half.

The Comets opened up a 13-point lead less than 3 minutes into the third quarter after starting the second half with a 10-4 burst.

Newman took its largest lead of 15 at 61-46 after a bucket by Jeremy Wilson with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

Polo made things interesting down the stretch. Trailing 65-52 with less than 4 minutes to play, the Marcos went on a 6-0 run, making it 65-58 on a 3 by Michael Geary with 1:47 remaining.