Every time Newman fought back, Mendota had the answer. Whether it was hitting shots or locking down on defense, the Trojans seemed to have the Comets’ number Tuesday.

Until they didn’t.

A huge run early in the fourth quarter propelled Newman past Mendota 67-66 in a battle atop the Three Rivers East standings.

“We knew we had to come out as hard as we could and hit our 3s, and just rebound, play hard, be strong on defense,” Newman’s George Jungerman said. “We started slow in the first half, but got our 3s falling and we got our momentum back, got the game rolling.”

Trailing 46-40 in the final half-minute of the third quarter, Newman (19-0, 3-0 TRAC East) got a 3-pointer from Easton Coward to cut the deficit to three, then Garret Matznick and Evan Bushman buried 3s to open the fourth quarter.

The Comets scored 11 straight points to take a 51-46 lead, then Bushman’s fast-break 3 capped a 20-5 extended run for a 60-51 lead with 2:42 to play.

“The past couple games we’ve been in a real slump, so it was great when we came out [after halftime] and started hitting shots,” Asher Ernst said. “Once we hit a couple, everyone started getting the confidence – and once one person gets confidence, we all start getting confidence.

“Everyone can contribute equally, everyone’s great at the roles they’ve got. It highlights our ‘We Over Me’ motto, and we just executed when we had to. This was a great team win.”

Mendota (14-5, 2-1 TRAC East) didn’t quit. Oliver Munoz scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a three-point play and back-to-back drives to the rim in the final two minutes. Aden Tillman and Drew Becker both hit 3s in the final 20 seconds, but the Comets made just enough free throws to hold on.

“I thought those two minutes there to start the fourth kind of got us,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “We lost a little focus and got sped up offensively. When teams make shots like that, you’ve got to slow it down and get a real good shot, and I thought we took a couple quick ones.

“That’s a really good team, they’ve got a lot of really good basketball players, and at the end of the day, they’re going to find a way. They’re 19-0 for a reason. It was just a one- or two-shot game, and they made more than we did.”

Becker’s final 3 went through the net with just under five seconds to play, meaning Newman didn’t have to inbound the ball as time expired.

“We knew we were in it the whole time, even when they were up by nine. We knew they were going to go on runs, we knew we were going to go on runs – that’s what good teams do – and we just kept persevering until the very end,” Becker said. “Our ball movement was really good, and our defensive intensity was really good. We didn’t shoot the best in the first half, but we shot better in the second half.”

The Trojans led 25-23 at halftime after limiting Newman to 34.8% shooting (8 of 23), including 0 of 7 from deep. They stretched the lead to 29-23, but Jungerman finally hit the Comets’ first 3 on an inbounds play under the basket, and then hit another one a minute later to put Newman ahead 33-32 halfway through the third quarter.

Mendota got 3s from Becker, Aden Tillman, Dane Doyle and Becker again, and Cole Tillman’s layup made it a six-point lead with 20 seconds left in the period.

But Newman answered with its 11-0 spurt, then responded again after Becker hit another 3 to tie the game at 51-all with 4:42 to play.

“We started 0-fer from 3-point range, and that hurt us a lot. But once George and Evan and Garret started hitting them, we knew we could hit all night,” John Rowzee said. “Once they get hot, they stay hot, and we needed that confidence right there.”

Jungerman finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and also reached a milestone with his 1,000th career point on a baseline drive and layup midway through the third quarter.

Ernst (4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Rowzee (six rebounds, two steals) led Newman with 14 points apiece, and Matznick added nine points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Comets shot 57% (16 of 28) in the second half, including 50% (7 of 14) from deep.

Becker had 19 points and four rebounds for Mendota, while Aden Tillman (five rebounds, two assists), Doyle (six assists, two steals) and Munoz (two assists, two steals) all scored 11 points. Cole Tillman added eight points, 11 rebounds and two assists, and Alex Beetz had eight assists as the Trojans assisted on a whopping 21 of their 26 field goals.