Fatima basketball coach Ryan Robertson wasn't sugarcoating anything following the Comets' performance Friday night in the Jamboree at Helias.
But he believes his team is capable of turning things around in a hurry.
Fatima suffered a 44-20 loss to Helias in the opener before dropping a 42-21 decision to Jefferson City in Game 2.
"I think it saved us an embarrassment (for Tuesday night's season opener)," Robertson said. "We're not near ready for games to count on our record right now. We're way behind where I thought we could be at this point.
"Our energy level is not there, and that's one thing you hope for coming into tonight. That's one thing we've got to get better on as a team."
Fatima, which finished 19-9 last season while reaching the Class 3 sectional round, was 11-of-38 from the field on the night, 24-of-33 from the free-throw line and 3-of-11 from behind the arc.
Nolan Huot scored 18 points in the two games, while Ross Dickeneite tallied 14.
"Hopefully we'll learn from tonight," Robertson said. "If we don't bring everything, we're going to be pretty common, but if we bring a great effort with some toughness, we can play with some people."
Fatima trailed Helias 13-9 after the first quarter, but the Crusaders outscored the Comets 21-12 in the second to take a 34-21 lead into the final period.
Fatima was 6-of-24 (25 percent) from the field, 15-of-18 (83 percent) from the charity stripe and just 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Helias also claimed a 19-12 rebounding advantage while forcing eight turnovers.
Fatima trailed Jefferson City 14-9 after the first quarter, but the Jays controlled the tempo the rest of the way.
"You know what your weaknesses are, but this will exploit so much more than just your weaknesses," Robertson said. "There are things we thought we were doing well, but it turns out we need to work on everything.
"We're going to get where we need to be. It's just going to be a process and I hope in a couple months this team looks a lot different than they do now. We're going to make sure we're in the gym, finding a way to do that."