Coyotes' first half dooms Tabor Bluejays
Making it to the NAIA Div. II Tournament was a huge gift for the Bluejays.
Lugging a 16-15 record into the March 9-16 tournament in Branson, Mo., the lower-seeded Bluejays had a tough task on their hands against the third-seeded fifth-ranked Albertson (Idaho) Coyotes.
Facing an uphill battle all but 25 seconds of the game, the Bluejays' season ended on a 77-60 loss to the Coyotes and a 16-16 record on the year.
Playing his final game, Jeremiah Randall tied the contest at 2-2, :52 into the game.
Tabor quickly lost its footing as the Coyotes used a 15-2 run to push their lead to 17-4, nearly 8:00 in.
Closing out a scintillating senior season, Tyson Ratzlaff cut the Coyote lead to 17-7 with a three before Andy Brubacher scored off a steal to pull to 17-9 with 12:45 left in the first half.
Eight points was as deep as the Bluejays could cut into the Coyote lead the rest of the way.
Neutralizing the fearsome foursome of Tom Perkes, Andy Harper, E.J. Costello, and Joe Greene is mandatory to beat the Coyotes. The Cascade Conference Player of the Year Perkes scored a game-high 19 points with the other three supplying 36 more points, all finishing in double figures.
The Bluejays post players of Randall, Brad Gattis, Tony Monson, and Colby Bettles did a fair job of guarding Perkes, limiting him to 4-of-6 from the floor.
But Perkes did damage at the free throw line hitting 11-for-12 and the Coyotes shooting 83 percent on 24-of-29.
The Bluejays again struggled at the line for 6-of-11 and getting out-rebounded 36-27. Ratzlaff led the Bluejays with six rebounds and six points.
Matt Nelson drained a three with 8:34 left before the break to again cut the lead to eight, 25-17.
Perkes scored six points and the Coyotes stretched their lead to 33-17 with an 8-0 run, forcing a Tabor time-out.
More free throw marksmanship from Perkes and Albertson outscored Tabor 10-4 the closing 4:53, sending the Coyotes in with a 43-21 lead at the break.
It was the Coyotes' perimeter shooting — 5-for-7 and 14-14 at the foul line that spelled the Bluejays' doom.
That changed in the second half with Albertson cooling off to 2-of-13 from downtown and 35 percent for the game.
Two of Monson's team-high 11 points made it a 43-23 game, 22 seconds into the second half.
Green canned a basket with 4:26 left in the game and the Coyote bulge swelled to 71-41.
Down big, Tabor shifted into panic mode, bombing threes in hopes of getting back in the game.
The Bluejays hit an identical 35 percent from behind the arc, led by Cody Schafer's 2-of-4.
The Bluejays refused to give up as Josh Reeves nailed a triple off an offensive rebound to trim the lead to 74-55 with 1:44 left in Tabor's season.
Bettles scored the final points of Tabor's triumphant season with :31 to go that made for the 77-60 final.
The Bluejays will miss the leadership of Ratzlaff, Randall, and Schafer but should have enough experience returning next season to remain worthy of defending the KCAC crown.
The Coyotes were eliminated in the second round of the tournament by Daemane (N.Y.).
