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The ball just stopped going through the basket. “There are things you can control, you can’t control shooting,” Fatima coach Ryan Robertson said Friday night after the Comets dropped a 47-36 decision to the Father Tolton Trailblazers in the Class 4 District 9 Tournament title game. I don’t even think twice about it, the things we could control better, I will take the blame for.”
For years, the Jefferson City Jays have had to watch the championship game of their home tournament, the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic, from the stands, hoping the next year would be their chance to finally play for the title. That chance finally came Friday night, and the Jays didn’t let the opportunity slip through their fingertips.
Nate Brandt controlled the Fatima offense early, but the Comets spread the ball around as they pulled ahead. Fatima scored the first 11 points, and 18 of the first 21, in the fourth quarter to build a 58-46 win Thursday night against the Helias Crusaders in the semifinals of the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The bragging rights are back in Osage County. Tuesday night’s rivalry matchup was a seesaw battle, but the Fatima Comets never trailed. Fatima ended the first half on an 8-0 run and made plenty of free throws in the fourth quarter, pulling away to a 57-46 victory against the Blair Oaks Falcons. The win snaps an eight-game losing streak for the Comets against the Falcons, but Fatima coach Ryan Robertson was quick to note Blair Oaks made it difficult on his team to finally break the streak Tuesday.
Fatima’s comeback just ran out of time. The No. 3 seed Comets cut what was once a 16-point deficit in the second half all the way to one, but ran out of time to finish it off as the No. 2 seed Father Tolton Trailblazers escaped with a 45-40 win in the Class 4 District 9 semifinals Thursday night.