The Blair Oaks Falcons made sure they finished on a high note Thursday night.
After suffering losses to the Jefferson City Jays and the Father Tolton Trailblazers, Blair Oaks ended the Helias Jamboree with a 29-16 win against the Helias Crusaders at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"We were stronger with the basketball as the night went along," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "We had better movement offensively. We just improved throughout the night."
Blair Oaks opened the 12-minute scrimmage against Helias on an 11-2 run, getting seven of those points from returning all-stater Luke Northweather.
"Things look really good when shots are going in," Fick said. "The reason shots were going in was because they were higher-percentage shots."
Northweather finished with 12 points - including a pair of dunks - against Helias, while Chase Schnieders added four points.
In the first two scrimmages, the Falcons lost to Jefferson City 26-20 and were edged by Tolton 21-20.
The Jays came away with four 3-pointers, leading by as many as 12 points (24-12) against the Falcons.
"We got off to a slow start against Jeff City," Fick said. "They got out and pressured us defensively. The game was a little quicker than we had been practicing."
Quinn Kusgen led Blair Oaks with 10 points, knocking down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the final margin to six points.
Blair Oaks, Helias and Jefferson City all had football teams playing for a district championship last Friday, and those players were able to join the basketball team for practice this week.
"You're looking at different lineups and combinations, and all three schools are dealing with getting back their football players recently," Fick said. "Some played, some didn't."
However, Fick was frustrated with his team's rebounding in its first two scrimmages.
"We did not rebound, especially against Jeff City," Fick said. "I counted at least 10 points that were second-chance points, and there were some glaring ones against Tolton.
"We had a size advantage against Helias, so we rebounded better."
The Blair Oaks scrimmage against Tolton was competitive from start to finish, leaving fans anticipating their Dec. 27 first-round matchup in the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic.
"We've gotten to the point where we play each other so much during the season and the summer, and now you're in a Jamboree," Fick said.
Blair Oaks won't tip off its season until Nov. 30 in the Tri-County Conference Tournament at Boonville. The Falcons, the No. 1 seed, will play Eldon in the first round.