After losing to Newman by one point on Jan. 13, the Mendota boys basketball team installed a few wrinkles this week in preparation for the rematch with the Comets.

“We had a couple set plays we put in this week just for them,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “We were hoping they would work because we wanted to get off to a hot start, and we did.”

The Trojans scored the first eight points of the game and dominated start to finish for a 65-46 rout of the previously undefeated Comets in a Three Rivers Conference East Division game before a packed crowd in Mendota.

“The boys have been waiting for this game since we lost to them, which put a bad taste in their mouths,” Wasmer said. “We thought we did enough things to win (the first game). They’re a really good team, so we knew we had to play four quarters, and we did.”

The win gives Mendota a shot to win at least a share of the conference title after winning it outright last winter.

“It means a lot,” Mendota sophomore Cole Tillman said about the win. “Moving forward for the postseason, it gives us a good edge. Now we share the conference lead and we’re hoping we can win out.”

For the Comets, (24-1), it was their first lost in 11 months. Newman’s last loss was a 55-44 loss to Eastland in a regional final on Feb. 28, 2024.

“It’s a different feeling,” Newman coach Ray Sharp said. “(I told the team) understand the feeling and do what it takes to not have it happen again. We’ve had a heck of a run. We have to be proud of that. We can still tie for conference. We have to be focused on winning out the rest of our conference games.”

Mendota attacked Newman’s 1-3-1 zone well from the start with Tillman scoring the team’s first two baskets on assists from Dane Doyle and his brother, Aden.

“It’s about player movement,” Wasmer said. “Ball movement is great, but if the players are standing still, it’s hard to get a good shot against that 1-3-1 zone. We cut really well. We cut to the middle. We had some guys cutting baseline and we never stopped moving.”

Drew Becker then scored on a layup and off an assist from Aden Tillman for an 8-0 lead.

“It was definitely great to get off to a good start,” Cole Tillman said. “It helps the team momentum, especially in front of this big home crowd.”

The Trojans also limited Newman to just one field goal in the first quarter. The Comets shot 25% from the field, including 18.5% from 3-point range, and were held to their lowest point total of the season.

“We communicated,” Wasmer said. “We switched everything because we don’t really have any bad mismatches with them. It’s all about talking. They set a ton of screens. I could hear us talking. We communicated and played together.”

Mendota extended its lead to 22-7 by the end of the first quarter.

“I thought they came out with a lot more intensity than we had,” Sharp said. “They were more ready to play than we were. I take the blame for that. You have to give them a lot of credit for that. We didn’t shoot well. We only made six shots the first half. If you shoot it poorly, you have to play better defense. I thought defensively we didn’t play well early. We weren’t playing as hard as we needed to play. We gave up 22 points in the first quarter. We only gave up 23 in the second half. That’s a little bit of a problem. We gave up 42 in the first half. We’re never going to win games giving up 42 points in a half.”

The Trojans continued to extend their lead in the second quarter, taking a 42-22 lead at the break after Aden Tillman buried a 3 just before the buzzer on a kickout from Oliver Munoz.

Mendota scored the first two buckets of the second half to go up 24 and led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter.

Cole Tillman scored a game-high 19 points to lead Mendota (20-5, 5-1 TRC East), while Doyle had 14 points, Becker and Aden Tillman each added eight points and Munoz contributed seven points and five assists. Evan Bushman led Newman (24-1, 6-1) with 15 points.

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Mendota's Johan Cortez (4) shoots midrange shot over Ashton Miner (0) of Newman Central Catholic on Friday, January 30, 2026 at Mendota High School in Mendota. (MaKade Rios for Shaw Local)