The Jefferson City Jays took a chance. It paid off win a winning way. “We had a plan and the kids executed the plan,” Jays coach Nathan Redcay said Wednesday night after Jefferson City defeated the Helias Crusaders 42-21 in a Central Missouri Activities Conference dual at Fleming Fieldhouse. “They really wanted this win and it showed.”
For the third consecutive year, excluding 2020 when the tournament was a four-team round robin, the Helias Crusaders found themselves in the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic third-place game.
And for the third consecutive time, the Crusaders walked away with a win.
Nate Brandt controlled the Fatima offense early, but the Comets spread the ball around as they pulled ahead. Fatima scored the first 11 points, and 18 of the first 21, in the fourth quarter to build a 58-46 win Thursday night against the Helias Crusaders in the semifinals of the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The Helias Crusaders and first-round wins in the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic have been synonymous with each other. Helias is playing in the Classic for the 25th straight season, and the Crusaders are 18-4 in first-round games when the tournament has been an eight-team format.
The Helias Crusaders are anticipating every Central Missouri Activities Conference game to be a tough battle this season.
They hope every game plays out like Thursday night’s conference opener.