WARDSVILLE - The Fatima Comets tried to slow down the Blair Oaks Falcons on Thursday night. They could only manage to accomplish that for a few minutes in the first quarter.
In the end, Fatima needed to speed things up late to erase a double-digit deficit, but the Falcons put a stop to that to win 86-71.
The fourth quarter became a combination of fast and furious play and a free-throw contest.
The Falcons were already in the bonus when the fourth quarter started, and they took advantage of that by making 26-of-34 from the line for the game. Four Comets and a Falcon fouled out off the contest.
Dylan Skinner got a layup in the final seconds of the third quarter to give the Falcons a 59-44 lead.
But the Comets weren't going to go away that easily, using a full-court press to turn turnovers into points.
A Sam Groner steal led to a three-point play for Steven Brandt to cut the deficit to 65-60 with 5:29 left.
"We got a little shaky after the first pass," Falcons coach Ryan Fick said. "When we were able to get the ball to the middle of the floor we had some success. Too many times I thought we tried to dribble through double teams instead of advancing the ball with the pass, but we made plays when we needed to."
Blair Oaks managed to get its lead back to 10 with 4:06 left to play, but the Comets had it back down to five about 30 seconds later, thanks to a Jordan Herzing steal and Groner layup.
"A rivalry game like that, you expect teams to make runs," Fick said. "We were never comfortable at all and they just kept plugging away."
Unfortunately for Fatima, Blair Oaks started beating the press and knocking down free throws.
Jason Rackers, who led all scorers with 27 points, converted a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays. Thomas Verslues made four free throws while Skinner made a pair to help close the game on a 12-2 run.
Rackers and Ben Ward tied for a game-high 12 rebounds for Blair Oaks. Skinner scored 16 points while Tim Fick scored 13, including going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
"Ben's not a big guy, but he's got a nose for the ball," Ryan Fick said. "He just seems to go get it."
Brandt led the way for Fatima, finishing with 22 points and seven rebounds. Eric Brendel was 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line for 20 points. Groner added 19 points.
The game began with a fast pace as Blair Oaks led 14-12 with about three minutes left in the opening quarter.
Fatima then took advantage of the Falcons' zone defense by holding the ball for a couple minutes before Brandt drove in for a layup to tie the game at 14.
Fatima then got a steal and was able to hold for the final shot, which was a Brendel jumper to give Fatima a 16-14 lead.
The Falcons switched to a man-to-man defense and the pace quickly turned toward Blair Oaks' favor.
"We were able to get the ball out in transition and score some points," Fick said. "You can't say enough about our floor vision. We were very unselfish tonight."
Blair Oaks (8-0) and Fatima (4-2) are set for tournament action next.
The Comets begin play in the Linn Inviational on Tuesday, facing Carnahan at 4 p.m. in the first round of the three-day event.
The Falcons start play in the Tri-County Conference Tournament next Friday against Eldon at Hallsville. The rest of the tournament will be Jan. 4-6.
Blair Oaks won Thursday's JV game 61-51 to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Eric Northweather led the Falcons with 14 points. Dru Rackers and Trent Martin each had 12.