WESTPHALIA -- The ball just stopped going through the basket.
“There are things you can control, you can’t control shooting,” Fatima coach Ryan Robertson said Friday night after the Comets dropped a 47-36 decision to the Father Tolton Trailblazers in the Class 4 District 9 Tournament title game.
“I don’t even think twice about it, the things we could control better, I will take the blame for.”
The Comets took a one-point lead at 34-33 into the fourth quarter. But in the final eight minutes, Fatima missed its first eight shots and finished 1-of-14 from the field while missing on all four of its free-throw attempts.
“That’s part of the game,” Robertson said. “I don’t look at that kind of stuff, I look at things I should have done to set them up for buckets.”
The teams traded points in the first quarter, which ended tied at 12. Fatima’s biggest lead was at 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Cooper Kleffner a little more than a minute into the game, Tolton’s biggest lead was two points at 9-7.
Fatima limited Tolton to just one point in a four-minute span in the middle of the second quarter to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 22-15 lead. The Comets took a 22-17 advantage into intermission.
“We did a good job of keeping them out of the paint and off the glass,” Robertson said.
Fatima stretched its lead to nine at 29-20 in the opening three minutes of the third quarter. The final points came when Matt Robertson pulled down a defensive rebound, threw the ball down the court to Easton Haslag, who laid it off to Nate Brandt for a layup.
The Blazers answered with a 7-0 run in the next three-plus minutes to make it 31-29. Haslag pushed the lead back to five at 34-29 with a 3-pointer with 1:26 left, but Tolton tallied a pair of buckets to cut Fatima’s lead to 34-33 going to the fourth quarter.
Izaak Porter hit a 3-pointer a minute into the fourth quarter to give Tolton a 36-34 advantage, its first lead since early in the second quarter. Exavier Wilson and Porter then scored baskets to push the Blazers’ lead to 40-34 with 4:45 remaining.
“Their defensive intensity is so hard to deal with,” Robertson said. “When they started scoring, it takes us out of the running, out of the flow.”
The Comets had a chance to cut into the deficit with 2:40 left when Porter was whistled for his fifth foul, then for a technical for his reaction as he got to the Blazers’ bench. But Fatima missed all four free throws to still trail by six.
Evens Appolon’s free throw on the ensuing possession increased Tolton’s lead to 41-34. Kleffner then hit a layup with just under two minutes left for Fatima’s first basket of the quarter after the Comets started 0-for-8.
“We felt we had some good looks, just didn’t knock them in,” Robertson said. “And then it just kind of snowballed.”
Tolton then scored the final six points of the game to take the 11-point victory.
“I could not be more proud of the fight,” Robertson said. “These kids are like sons to me, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Wilson had a double-double for Tolton. The sophomore guard, who played last season at Jefferson City, finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. James Lee, Tolton’s other starting guard, added eight points.
“Those guards are what scared us, they are almost impossible to keep out of the paint,” Robertson said. “They are just fantastic basketball players.”
Tolton (19-9), ranked No. 6 in Class 4, will face Springfield Catholic (15-13) in the sectionals Monday night at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar.
Brandt wrapped up his Fatima career with a team-high 15 points.
“The great ones have the ability to make everyone around them better,” Robertson said. “I’ve never seen a more infectious personality to make people around him better than him.
“He’s not scared of any thing or anybody, he’s an all-timer.”
Brandt became the all-time scoring leader for the Comets, ending with 1,865 to eclipse Robertson’s record by four points.
“I’ve been hoping all year he would get it,” Robertson said. “He didn’t know the number, his family didn’t know the number.
“For him to do it these days, with all of the video and the scheming of coaches, is incredible.”
Fatima ends the season at 21-7.