Napa, CALIF- The Storm were host to the visiting on February 13th against Contra Costa Comets looking to even the season series after a 56-90 loss. The Storm came out of the game with a sense of urgency shaking up the traditional starting line up to spark the bench. The first unit did just that with offensive execution, hustle and playing sound defensively. At one point in the game the Storm had an 8 point lead early in the first half. Substitutions came in around the 10 minute mark and the Comets began to make a comeback. After a timeout the Storm guards were on high alert as the Comets played a full court press defense. The full court press took the Storm out of rhythm and began to fall into old habits. Turnovers halted the Storm offense and the Comets took advantage going on a run to take a lead.
In the previous game Eric Jones was the primary scorer and play maker for the Comets, in this game however the Storm big men stayed sound defensively and challenged each drive to the rim. Dakota Macias and David Skeete were dominating the glass for the storm in the first half. Scoring it was a balanced effort with many of the points scored were in the paint. The height advantage played a big role in keeping the game within striking distance being only down by six.
In the second half the Strom matched the level of defensive intensity the Comets were showing. This began to stifle the comets forcing turnovers and bad shot selection. Each team began trading baskets answering shot for shot. In the last three minuets the Storm were down by 9 and needed big defensive stops to get within one possession. In two straight possessions the Storm were called on offensive off the ball fouls that denied the Storm to take a lead. Oscar Frank however was aggressive getting to the basket at will and getting to the free throw line while stopping the clock. With less than 10 seconds left in the game the Storms press defense forced an errant pass giving the Storm one last chance to tie the ball game on a three point basket. With 5.4 seconds left the ball was trapped in the corner and Braxton Adderly sent up a prayer with his non shooting hand that hung on the rim that seemed like forever. It bounced and rimed out for a 66-69 loss.