TABOR COLLEGE: Bluejays get easier game with Bulldogs
Tabor men rout McPherson 92-67
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Bluejay coach Don Brubacher was anticipating another ugly basketball game Saturday night in McPherson like the one his team was involved in two days earlier against Sterling.
Judging by Thursday's slap in the face from the Warriors, KCAC teams must've declared open season on the Bluejays.
That didn't happen with the Bulldogs.
Tabor shot the lights out on McPherson in the second half, hitting a season-high 67 percent from the field en route to a 92-67 throttling of the Bulldogs and a 55 percent night from the floor.
"I really thought the biggest difference in our play was on the defensive end," Brubacher said. "It turned into a faster-paced game the second half.
"We had more possessions because our defensive play improved, and McPherson turned the ball over a few more times the second half."
Tabor's defense forced 17 turnovers, which were converted into 26 points, paced by Micah Ratzlaff's trio of steals.
Scoring lapses by both teams never allowed Tabor to widen the gap any more than eight points in the first half after McPherson took a 2-0 lead 21 seconds into the game.
Micah paced a balanced scoring attack for Tabor with 14 points — half coming in the first half.
Tyson Ratzlaff and Jeremiah Randall added 13 each, Jared Reese 12, and Grant and Scott Brubacher followed with 11 and eight, respectively. Kyle Kopper and Brad Gattis combined for 14.
A player that is deadly both near and far from the basket, Micah has struggled making high-percentage shots the last three games.
"Micah seems to go through stretches where he has trouble finishing around the rim," Brubacher said. "It's not a consistent problem for him, but it seems it pops up once in a while."
The Bulldogs were still hanging around at halftime, down just 37-34 while holding the Bluejays' perimeter shooting to an icy 4 for 15.
A pair of free throws by Kenny Romero got the Bulldogs as close as 37-36 but no closer.
Randall ignited a 14-3 Bluejay run that the game open with 11:42 to go.
By the time Romero drained another pair from the line with just under 8:00 left, Tabor's lead had stretched to 77-55.
Tabor ended the game on a 6-0 run with four points coming from reserve Landon Goertzen.
The victory lifts Tabor's record to 4-5 on the year and 1-1 in the KCAC.
The Bluejays host the Bethany Swedes tonight with game time scheduled for 8 p.m.
Sterling
There's slim chance the Bluejays' Dec. 5 game against the Sterling Warriors will make the season highlight tape for Tabor.
It ranked right up with the likes of the Oklahoma City and Northwestern Oklahoma State debacles in terms of getting ugly.
Not just the game, but the rambunctious Sterling student section with athletic director Lonnie Kruse right in the thick of it.
The raucous Warrior crowd forced the Hillsboro policeman assigned to the game to call for back-up.
By the time the game ended with the Warriors ruining Tabor's KCAC opener with a 75-72 surprise, five officers were keeping order, including three from the sheriff's department.
Neither team could pull away with the lead being juggled four times in the first half along with five ties.
Gattis sank the front end of a two-shot foul to give the Bluejays a 38-31 with 41 seconds left in the first half, Tabor's largest lead of the first half.
Scott Brubacher scored a team-high 16 points including four for eight from downtown, Micah had 13 and Gattis followed with 12.
Just one of the many things that made it a sour performance for the Bluejays was squandering a 38-33 lead the second half.
The Warriors took over with 9:22 left as Tyson got hit with a technical foul.
Sterling's 9-0 run, must have caused a drop in the Bluejays' sense of safety.
A trio of triples with two by Micah and one by Scott Brubacher trimmed the Warrior lead as close as 68-66, with just under 2:00 to go in the game.
