TABOR: Tabor men go undefeated at Classic
Tabor men top St. Gregory, Hastings
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Finally, Bluejay coach Don Brubacher and his team played the kind of game that they can feel proud of.
Closing out 2002 by dropping three of their last four, it's been a few weeks since Tabor has had a good one, much less two.
Apparently, the Christmas season was kind to the Bluejays and Brubacher with the Bluejays staying perfect through the weekend long Tabor Classic.
Tabor capped off the Classic Saturday, using a 36-30 first half to outlast a smart Hastings Bronco team, 73-67.
"I would say from beginning to end it was probably one of our better efforts of the year," Brubacher said. "But we're still making far too many big mistakes on the defensive end."
Some of the Bluejays' big defensive errors came in the first half, giving up a 10-1 run to the Broncos that shrunk a 13-2 game to 13-12 with 13:43 left in the first half.
When it came to defending the Broncos' dangerous long distance specialists Aaron Kobza, Joe Sochor and Luke Olson, the Bluejays struggled.
The trio merged for all seven of Hastings' 23 three-point attempts that, combined with the Bluejays' inconsistency on high percentage shots, kept Tabor from ever burying the Broncos.
Not to mention Hastings shooting 50 percent on the floor.
But, the Bluejays missed a series of shots at point-blank range along with a handful of lay-ups. They finished the game 40 percent from the field and 44 percent from behind the arc.
Two games into 2003, it's still too iffy to see if standout Micah Ratzlaff has broken out of the early season slump.
He made some huge strides returning to his true form during the Classic, posting a game-high double-double with 17 points, including a trio of triples and 10 rebounds against the Broncos.
"It's probably the solidest basketball he's played for 40:00 in two games in one week," Brubacher said of Micah and getting his game back on track. "He's still having to work awfully hard in his conditioning."
Micah drilled a three off a Cody Schafer assist 12:18 before intermission to ignite a 10-0 run to push the Bluejays' lead out to 28-17.
Schafer was huge off the bench, scoring a season-high nine points along with a trey.
Hotshot freshman Brad Gattis scored 16 points through foul trouble, sinking a trey to Tabor its largest lead of the game, 31-19, at the 7:00 mark.
Hastings scored nine points from threes in the closing 6:00 to go in at half down by six.
The Broncos wouldn't go away, pulling to within one four times in the first 4:30 of the second half before a pair of Kobza free throws with 13:07 left gave them a 47-46 lead.
The two teams juggled the lead six times over the next 5:30 before two of Jeremiah Randall's 16 points put the Bluejays ahead for good with 8:13 remaining.
Olson capped off an 8-0 run for Hastings, canning a three and again the lead evaporated down to one.
Tyson Ratzlaff was the fourth Bluejay in double figures with 10 points.
None were bigger than his final free throw with :05 left which made it a two-possession game for the Broncos.
With the KCAC season beginning today when the 6-7 Bluejays host the defending league champion Ottawa Braves, the Classic gave Tabor its final opportunity to correct the flaws in its game.
"It just gives us a chance to work out the kinks after all the time off over break," Brubacher said. "It's really important for us to play before we go back into conference."
Tonight's tip-off with the Braves is slated for 8 p.m.
The Bluejays stay home Saturday to host the Southwestern Moundbuilders in a 7 p.m. start.
St. Gregory's
Tabor, aided by both a season- and game-high 27 points from Micah, erased a nine-point deficit to outlast the St. Gregory Cavaliers in a thriller Friday night, 74-73.
Gattis scored a season-high 21, including the game-winning three that just beat the buzzer.
It was the Cavaliers' inside game that helped them withstand the flurry of the Bluejays' three-point shooting, trailing 37-36 at halftime.
The Bluejays spent a good part of the second half playing from behind, never eclipsing the lead until Gattis sank the winning bask
