Bluejays do some Coyote hunting
Tabor men battle 26-6 Albertson Coyotes in first round of NAIA Tournament
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Tabor endured a bumpy 16-14 season and was rewarded a ticket to he NAIA Div. II's Big Dance in Branson, Mo., this week. The Bluejays will use that ticket to do some Coyote hunting.
Both the regular season KCAC champion Bluejays and the tournament champ Sterling Warriors will have their work cut out for them this week.
The Bluejays opened the tournament Wednesday in a showdown with the fourth-ranked Albertson (Idaho) Coyotes, the champions of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
Two of the Coyotes' six losses came in blowouts courtesy of NCAA Div. I teams, Weber State and Boise State.
No strangers to the national tournament, the Coyotes are led by a fearsome foursome of 6'7" forward Tom Perkes swing forward Andy Harper, and guards E.J. Costello and Joe Green.
Albertson captured the title eight years ago, having upended three KCAC teams in the tournament since 1962.
The McPherson Bulldogs were the only KCAC team that has beaten the Coyotes — 52 years ago.
The Cascade Conference Player-of-the-Year, Perkes leads the Coyotes in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.56 points per game and 6.75 rebounds per game.
On the season, Perkes has had six double-doubles, but was rendered powerless in the blowouts by the Wildcats and Broncos.
Harper is the Coyotes' next biggest threat, netting a 15.3 ppg average while hitting a team-high 85 percent at the free throw line.
Costello was tabbed the Cascade Conference's Newcomer-of-the-Year, averaging 12.9 ppg, while hitting a blistering 40 percent from outside.
With one more year of eligibility, Green runs the offense from the point.
Averaging seven points a game, Green leads Albertson both in steals (104,) and assists (4.9 apg).
Hitting 46 percent from the floor per game, the Coyotes flourish from behind the arc.
A definite perimeter threat, Albertson shoots 39 percent from three-point range on the year while limiting opponents to 33.
Albertson averages 77 points a game, yielding 71 to the opposition and 44 percent from the field.
If there's a weakness for the Coyotes, it comes in rebounding.
Ranking in the lower half of the KCAC in rebounding, battling on the glass has been a knock against Tabor the entire season.
Sterling faces sixth-ranked St. Ambrose (Iowa) today.
With a win, Tabor would meet the winner of Taylor (Ind.) and Daeman (N.Y.) in a 9:45 a.m. meeting Friday.
