Hackett falls 56-53 to Kalamazoo Christian in a Historic heated Rivalry.

Kalamazoo Christian and Kalamazoo Hackett captains meet prior to the game  photo by Brady Triemstra | Team TBM

The Irish struggled with turnovers early, which allowed the Comets to jump out to a 22–10 lead. Leland Berg sparked the offense by knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to open the scoring. Lukas Husovsky energized the Irish with a slam dunk to start the quarter, briefly swinging momentum their way. However, the Comets responded quickly with a pair of baskets. Berg continued his strong shooting, cutting the deficit to three points with under a minute remaining. Max Johnson attempted a buzzer-beater before halftime, but the shot rimmed out, sending the teams into the break with the Comets leading 31–28.

Hackett came out strong, forcing a turnover in the opening minute and converting two consecutive three-pointers. Crosby Croel answered for the Comets with a go-ahead and-one. Scoring slowed for both teams until Brooks added points from the free-throw line. Keegan McCue capped the quarter with an and-one in the final minute, giving Hackett a narrow 43–42 lead heading into the fourth.

Hackett basketball team during national anthem. photo by Brady Triemstra | Team TBM

Croel opened the final period by drilling a three to push the Comets’ lead to four with 5:30 remaining. After a hard fall, senior Keegan calmly stepped to the line and converted both free throws to tie the game at 50. Berg delivered another clutch three with 2:25 left to put the Comets back in front. With 33 seconds remaining, Sammy Pruis was blocked on a driving attempt, but he redeemed himself moments later by finishing an and-one with just 2.9 seconds on the clock to give the Comets the lead. Hackett’s final buzzer-beater attempt came up short, sealing a hard-fought 56–53 loss.

Play of the Game: Sammy Pruis Drives down the lane and gets the And-One with 2.9 seconds left, which would eventually win the game for the Comets. Scoring for Hackett

Elijah Brooks 10

Leland Berg 16

Cullen McBride 3

Keegan McCue 12

Elijah Nabors 5

Lukas Husovsky

Scoring for Kalamazoo Christian

Max Johnson 7

Jake Bonnema 11

Lucas Glerum 5

Crosby Croel 6

Sammy Pruis 25

James Balema 2