Vienna boys basketball coach Greg Koetting couldn't believe his ears. It didn't even dawn on him what his team had accomplished in the fourth quarter until after the game.
The Eagles began the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run Saturday, turning a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead against the Fatima Comets.
"I didn't realize they didn't score in that time period," Koetting said after Vienna's 63-57 win against Fatima to open the Capital City Shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse. "I'm thrilled to death.
"That is a big win for us."
Vienna's Tyler Collins scored a basket on a pass from Nathan Kleffner at the buzzer to end the third quarter, cutting Fatima's lead to 46-39. That play began a string of 18 straight points by the Eagles, who opened the fourth quarter with three straight 3-pointers.
Caid Stockstill's 3 from the left corner with 5:25 to play gave Vienna the lead for good at 48-46.
"That's definitely been our best shooting," Koetting said of Vienna's 7-of-9 shooting performance in the final eight minutes. "We've only had one night where we shot well, and that was against Calvary Lutheran. Otherwise, our outside shooting has not been very good."
Zack Schwartze made back-to-back 5-footers and Kleffner capped the run with a 3 with 3:35 to play, extending the Vienna lead to 55-46.
Fatima, meanwhile, was 1-of-11 from 3 in the fourth. The Comets shot 9-of-32 beyond the arc in the game.
"We just didn't hit shots," Fatima coach Ryan Robertson said. "Two of our starters combined for 1-of-15 from 3. If you have two starters putting it up that bad, it's tough to overcome."
The Comets answered with a 6-0 run to make the score 55-52 with two minutes to play. Vienna's AJae Schell was fouled with 1:43 left, hitting both free throws on a one-and-one to make it a two-possession game.
Schell, who finished with 11 points, also made two free throws with :06.1 remaining to seal the win.
"AJae Schell did a wonderful job covering (Brett Werner)," Koetting said. "And that was (Schell's) best offensive game. To begin the fourth quarter, that was his first 3 of the year."
Werner led Fatima with 11 points, all in the first half. The 6-foot-1 junior was called for charges on back-to-back possessions during Vienna's run, fouling out with 3:54 to play.
"That's good for Brett to see that," Robertson said. "You've got to be mentally tough to handle it, and hopefully he'll learn from it and grow."
Vienna closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run to lead 16-10. Fatima answered with a 13-2 run to start the second quarter, using its full-court press to force 10 first-half turnovers.
The Comets led 31-27 at halftime.
Vienna then used its defense to stymie Fatima in the second half, something Koetting used against the Comets when he previously coached at Linn.
"For the majority of the game, they were in a 1-3, and then they chased Brett," Robertson said. " It's hard to score in the paint because they've got help. You need to hit some shots from the top of the key."
Vienna had three players score in double figures. Stockstill, who was awarded the game MVP, scored eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Schwartze had a game-high 16 points to lead Vienna (5-4), which plays Monday at Russellville.
"To do this after losing the last three games and struggling with turnovers, we really stepped up," Koetting said.
Fatima (3-4) plays Tuesday at St. James.