It quickly came together.
On Wednesday, Jefferson City found out Northwest Academy was not going to be able to come Friday night to Fleming Fieldhouse for the scheduled boys basketball game.
A few calls later and a day later, the Fatima Comets agreed the fill the slot. It proved to be beneficial for both teams as the Jays and the Comets got some of what they wanted as Jefferson City topped Fatima 70-54 at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We really appreciate Fatima stepping up," Jays coach Mark Anderson said. "I've known and respected (Fatima coach) Ryan (Robertson) for a long, long time and I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant playing them with no prep.
"But thanks to them for helping us out."
Robertson said the Comets got a lot of positives from the experience.
"I'm so glad we came here, I think we grew as a team and we played well," Robertson said.
The Jays got off to a quick start, hitting six of their first seven shots to take a 16-7 lead midway through the first quarter. That run included a 4-for-4 performance on 3-pointers.
The Comets then settled down after a timeout and cut the deficit to six at 22-16 at the end of the quarter.
The Jays buckled down on the defensive end in the second quarter. The Comets were just 1-of-7 from the field with six turnovers in the eight minutes.
"Defensively, we got much, much better," Anderson said. "We locked down and guarded and challenged some shots."
The offense continued to click and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rayvon Webster gave the Jays a 41-21 advantage at the half.
Jefferson City continued its run in the third quarter, stretching its lead to 27 points on a couple of occasions. But Fatima was able to close the quarter on a 12-3 spurt during three minutes to cut the deficit to 56-38.
"We're running out a lot of youngsters and they grew tonight," Robertson said. "We fought."
Fatima outscored Jefferson City 16-14 in the fourth quarter.
"We don't have a lot of experience, so that's going to happen," Anderson said. "We took our foot off the throttle a little bit."
The Comets struggled at times against the big and quick Jays, committing 23 turnovers.
"It's one thing to practice against ourselves at this time of the year, but you just can't get used to the length and the speed they bring," Robertson said.
Brett Warner finished with 20 points to place Fatima.
"He's proven he can play at a high level of high school basketball," Robertson said.
Leo Verslues added 10 points for Fatima (2-2), which plays Tuesday at New Bloomfield.
Sterling DeSha led three Jays in double figures with 17 points.
"He's starting to step into his own," Anderson said. "We need him to understand how good he is and he's getting more aggressive and that's good to see."
Michael Appiah-Brefo added 16 points for Jefferson City, going 6-for-6 from the field and hitting all four of his free throws while pulling down a team-high five rebounds.
"He gives us a good post presence," Anderson said.
Brennan Jeffries chipped in with 12 points for the Jays (2-0), who will play potential district foe Battle on Tuesday in Columbia.
"We have some players who can step up and have big games here and there, but we're going to need balanced scoring and sharing the basketball to be successful most nights," Anderson said. "That's who we have to be."
In Friday night's JV game, the Jays defeated the Comets 58-30. Koby Sands had 10 points for the Jays, while Carter Karst totaled nine for Fatima.