Comets turn back Pirates 69-65 on road, go to 3-1

COSTA MESA (11-16-2017) -- The Palomar men's basketball team continued is early-season habit of winning close games on Thursday night at Orange Coast College's Peterson Gym, turned back the Pirates 69-65 to up its record to 3-1.

LaVale Coleman-Bell led coach John O'Neill's Comets, scoring 16 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Corday Fairley (13 points) and Anthony Brewer I12 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) also scored in double figures.

Palomar shot 51.4 percent from the field and led 30-29 at halftime.

Also for the Comets, Michael Chatman hauled in 5 rebounds. Matt Meyers contributed 3 steals and went 8-for-10 from the free throw stripe. Jackson Strong was 7-for-9 on free throws.

Orange Coast's Kupaa Harrison led all scorers with  26 points.

The Comets avenged their only loss of the season, 87-85 to the Pirates in overtime in the Ventura College We Play Hard Tournament on Nov. 4.

Next up for the Comets: Santiago Canyon to begin the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament next Friday, Nov. 24, at The Dome. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.