Fatima bounced back from a Jan. 2 loss to Blair Oaks with a pair of solid wins last week, defeating the Rolla Home School Association Royals and California.

On Friday, the Comets picked up a game against Rolla, winning 62-53. “We got a great effort from our boys,” said Coach Matt Baker, whose team held a 30-point lead mid-third quarter. “Blake (Kliethermes) and Xavier (Stuecken) were in attack mode from the tip, and our pace was really good. Additionally, we got a good shooting game from sophomore Trent Stuckenschneider.”

The trio led the team to a 38.6% shooting mark overall, as the Comets hit 7-12 from the stripe and covered 11 three-pointers.

Stuecken paced the team with 20 points, including a three-pointer and a 3-5 finish at the line. Kliethermes was a close second with 19 points as he went 4-9 from the outside, and Stuckenschneider (4-8 3PT, 2-2 FT) added 14 to the mix. Evan Klouzek (trey) posted four points, Ty Brandt hit a three-pointer, and Henry Robertson finished with two. In the assists column, Robertson, Stuecken, and Kliethermes recorded three apiece, Bryce Wieberg, Brandt, and Klouzek posted two each, and Devin Luebbert and Noah Wilbers each had one.

On the glass, Kliethermes grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, followed by Stuecken (7), Robertson and Wieberg (5 each), Stuckenschneider and Brandt (3 apiece), Luebbert and Klouzek (2 apiece), and Wilbers and Jack Wieberg (1 each).

Klouzek pilfered four to lead the Comets as Robertson and Kliethermes added three apiece.

On Tuesday, Fatima tamed the Pintos, 66-43 on the road. “This was a really interesting game for us in that we were coming off a tough game against Blair Oaks,  and I was extremely proud of how the boys responded,” said Baker.

Kliethermes had himself a stellar game, scoring a career-high in the first half and continuing to score at a high level in the second half on his way to a game-high 34 points. He went 5-9 from three-point range and 5-6 at the FT line while covering 12-17 from the short floor. He added 11 rebounds, all defensive, to complete the double-double.

After a 12-all score going into the second, the Comets begin to push, scoring 21 in the frame for a 32-24 halftime lead. From there, Fatima dominated the third, 19-8, and closed out the game with a 14-11 advantage in the final stanza.

Fatima pushed out to an almost 30-point lead at one point in the game, which allowed coaches to play several younger players.

Overall, the Comets hit 56.1% from the field, going 11-24 from beyond the arc, and 9-15 at the line.

Klouzek hit a pair of treys and finished with 10, followed by Stuecken (6), Stuckenschneider and Robertson (3 apiece, each with a trey), and Luebbert and B. Wieberg (2 each). Kliethermes posted five assists, as B. Wieberg and Stuecken added two each.

Stuecken counted six rebounds, Luebbert grabbed three, and Klouzek, Cash Mengwasser, and B. Wieberg each had two.

Kliethermes and B. Wieberg finished with three steals apiece, and Stuecken, Brandt, Wilbers, Robertson, and Klouzek added one each. Stuecken also posted three blocks.