College of Marin Men's Basketball moved back to .500 on the season with a home victory over the Contra Costa Comets 74-67 on Friday. Malik Ghiden led the way for the Mariners with 24 points who led for the majority of the game. The win pushed the Mariners' 2019-2020 record to 11-11 including a 5-6 tally in the Bay Valley Conference.
Contra Costa led 4-2 after two minutes of competition but Marin responded with a 13-2 run punctuated by a three pointer by Franco Barefield to lead 15-6 after seven minutes. The Mariners led by 11 at 19-8 before the Comets shot back with a 19-8 run to tie the game up at 27-27. The final minutes of the half saw little to divide the two competitors as Marin took a 31-30 advantage at halftime.
The teams were tied at 42-42 five minutes into the second half, but the Mariners pushed back to lead 58-51. Contra Costa battled and cut Marin' lead to 60-58 with 4:45 left in regulation. With under two minutes and Marin up 63-62, Julian Bryant knocked down a three pointer to give Marin a lead they would not relinquish. The final minutes proved sluggish as Contra Costa played the foul game, but the result was a Mariners victory 74-67.
Ghiden was a force throughout the game, shooting 10 of 18 with a pair of made threes to lead all scorers. Jalen Chandler had 16 points, seven rebounds, to go with two steals and two blocks. Alfonso Murrie filled up the stat sheet with 12 points and a game high 13 rebounds.
The victory pushed the Mariners into a tie for fifth place with Solano College.
Next up is a difficult home matchup with the Yuba College on Wednesday, February 5th. The 49ers are ranked fifth in the state.
