The final decision wasn't what the Blair Oaks Falcons wanted.
But the Falcons got something out of Saturday's 60-51 loss to Strafford in the Central Bank Shootout at Rackers Fieldhouse in Jefferson City.
"That's a senior-laden team that has nine of them back from a Final Four team and has been in the top 10 in Class 3 all year," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "For us to come out and play the way we did, especially in the first half, it was a good game for us. It gave us some confidence."
Blair Oaks opened the game on a roll, jumping out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter. The Falcons then took a 32-23 advantage into intermission.
But Strafford made some defensive adjustments in the third quarter and Blair Oaks had difficultly adjusting.
"We did a good job of getting scores in transition in the first half," Fick said. "But they adjusted and took that away from us in the third quarter. We had a hard time getting open looks."
Strafford outscored Blair Oaks 16-2 in the pivotal third quarter and took a 39-34 lead into the final period.
"They really turned up the defense," Fick said. "They are so quick and athletic on the defensive side, we couldn't put anything together."
Cody Alexander finished with 19 points for Blair Oaks, while C.J. Closser added 10.
Blair Oaks (13-8) will play Tuesday at Eldon. The varsity game is slated for an 8 p.m. start.
III
On Friday night, Blair Oaks dropped a 51-36 decision to Battle in Columbia.
Battle led 12-8 after one quarter and 26-14 at the half. Battle outscored Blair Oaks 14-6 in the third quarter to take a 40-20 advantage into the final period.
Jason Rackers paced Blair Oaks with 11 points.