Falcons rough up slumping Bluejays
Tabor men looking for first league win after 67-60 loss to Friends
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
For a good portion of Saturday's game against the visiting Friends Falcons, the Bluejays were probably wondering if they were on the football field instead of the hardwoods, especially Bluejay Scott Shaffer.
Twice, the Bluejay guard was on the brunt end of the Falcons' back-alley brawling tactics, crashing down hard and eventually unable to continue.
Much like Shaffer, Tabor's (4-5, 0-2 KCAC) hopes of opening league play on a positive note, came crashing down too, with the physical Falcons dropping a 67-60 bomb on the Bluejays.
Tabor's learning quickly how important it is to protect a lead, fumbling two 10-point cushions in the opening conference games.
The biggest reason is being able to shoot the basketball. Tabor shot a modest 35 percent from the floor Saturday.
The uncanny trend of blowing a 10-point lead came after Jason Dechant canned a three to put the Bluejays up 21-11 10:35 into the game.
The Falcon trio of Steve Rausch, Greg Carrell, and the brash Leo Williams combined to sting Tabor for 42 points with 16 each from Williams and Rausch.
Tabor hit a lapse that lasted nearly 5:00, allowing the trio to score 14 of 15 unanswered points the Falcons used to take a 26-21 lead with 4:39 to go in the first half.
Friends took advantage of a Bluejay meltdown defensively to outscore Tabor, 25-4, the final 9:25.
"We started breaking down defensively and gave penetration in the lane and gave up some three-point shots," a disgusted Bluejays coach Don Brubacher said. "We just forgot ourselves. We were pretty focused early on how we needed to guard and it just started slipping away from us as the half wore on.
"On the offensive end, we just couldn't make a shot. We have no leeway for error defensively and we made some mistakes down the stretch."
To say the least.
Even a five-footer was no sure thing with Tabor trailing at the half, 36-25, hitting a chilly 32 percent from the field on 9-for-28, and 3-of-10 behind the arc. Many of them came from point blank range.
The Bluejays should try to figure out how to go 40:00 like they did to start the second half, lighting out for a 16-2 run.
"I thought we did a very nice job coming out in the second half and took advantage of some offensive opportunities," said Brubacher. "But again, we got some shots and put them in the basket."
Dechant and Andy Brubacher combined for 16 points, 4-for-12 from downtown.
Half of the threes came in the opening 6:11 of the second half when Andy Brubacher drained the go-ahead basket to give Tabor its first lead since the 6:54 mark in the first half, 41-40.
The two teams took turns juggling the lead 11 times over the next 13:49 with the score being knotted three times.
Grant Brubacher scored a game-high 16 points, tying Dechant for a team-high three assists.
Grant Brubacher's three-point play was the furthest the Bluejays could ever get away from the Falcons, 46-42.
But Carrell's three with 4:09 left put the Bluejays down for the count, 58-57, forcing Tabor to foul late in the game.
Trailing 64-57 with 1:10 left, Andy Brubacher sliced the lead to four with :41 remaining.
While 41 seconds is an eternity in basketball, Tabor's icy shooting made it a long shot for a late surge.
Despite beating the Falcons 45-36 battling for rebounds, Anthony Monson grabbing a game-high 10, Don Brubacher still stressed dire need for improvement.
"We can still play substantially better defensively than we did tonight, we're capable of that," he said. "We need to continue to work on our board play, which is still an immense struggle for us for some reason.
"It's another aspect of the game, like putting the ball in the basket. That is just a nightmare for us."
The Bluejays hope for better days this week when St. Mary visits tonight for an 8 o'clock meeting.
Tabor travels Saturday to McPherson to face the Bullpups in a 7 p.m. start.
