Tabor withstands late Ottawa surge
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
The next time the Bluejays meet the Ottawa Braves Feb. 7 in Ottawa, Tabor's defense might think twice about being so generous.
The Bluejays tapped their first half defensive pressure on the ball from strong down to moderate Saturday night at Hillsboro in the second half.
They nearly got burned for it, too.
Fortunately for Tabor, the moderate pressure was enough to thwart a second-half surge by a good Braves' team.
The Bluejays hung on for a 79-75 win to improve their record to 7-9 on the season and 3-1 in the KCAC.
"I thought in the first half we were lucky a few times," said Bluejay Head Coach Don Brubacher. "Some of their best shooters missed some good looks, but we also pressured the basketball quite a bit harder than we did in the second."
Brubacher was quick to point out that the Braves are a hot-shooting team.
Ottawa gave proof of that in the second half as the Braves shot a lights-out 20 of 33 from the field.
From the way the game began, it looked as if the Arctic air that seemed to hover over the women's game was still in the gym.
It took 2:19 before ironman Tyson Ratzlaff finally scored the game's first basket, which put Tabor up, 2-0.
The Bluejays would've been in a real pickle had it not been for Ratzlaff.
He scored a game high 24 with 11 coming courtesy of the free throw line while playing a team-high 33:29.
The Braves' Nick Young cut the score to as close as it would get the rest of the first half, 8-6, with a free throw 7:11 into the game.
A 10-0 Bluejay run pushed their lead to 41-24 with just under 1:00 left in the opening half.
Saying Ottawa missed some good looks at scoring was an understatement.
The Braves finished the first half shooting a sub-par 36 percent from the floor and a scant 11 percent from long range.
Tony Porter's basket at the 4:49 mark was the last field goal that the Bluejays' defense gave up.
Porter's pair of free throws with :30 seconds left chopped the Bluejays lead to 41-26 at the half.
The Bluejays' Jeremiah Randall scored all 11 of his points in the first half to lead all scorers.
"We talked about not letting them get on a roll and not getting easy looks," Brubacher said of his halftime topic. "Part of it was we played better defensively (first half), and the other part of it was they missed some shots."
The Bluejays had no such luck holding the Braves' shooting down in the second half.
Ottawa got its confidence back on a pair of triples from Chris McNaughton and Young.
The Braves were right back in the game, 45-32 not even 2:00 into the second half.
Then Tabor, fueled by a Jimmy Janzen three, outscored Ottawa 12-2 during the next 4:05, which left the Braves trailing 57-34.
The Bluejays' defense couldn't protect the lead.
"That second half we gave them just a little more space," Brubacher said, "and they really took advantage of it. Offensively, I think we showed fatigue actually."
With the way the Bluejays shot the ball in the second half, it was hard to believe that they were 50 percent for the game as well as through both halves.
In the closing 5:57, the Bluejays only two field goals came from Kyle Kopper and Ernest Nortey.
Nortey still finished in double figures with 11, including a dunk, but Tabor had to try staying on top from the free throw line.
The Bluejays were 23 of 29 from the line on the night for 79 percent, which was good enough to win.
Of their final 22 points in the last 5:57, 18 came from the line with Ratzlaff supplying 7 of 8.
But none of Ratzlaff's 11 were any bigger than the two he drained with 06 seconds left in the game that made it a two-possession game for the Braves.
What was once a 23-point game for the Bluejays had shriveled to 71-71 with :55 seconds left after a Porter field goal.
Trying to get back on top, Ottawa tried to conserve the clock by fouling.
Tabor wisely kept the ball in the hands of Ratzlaff, Scott Brubacher and Nortey.
Much to Braves' chagrin, the trio pulled through at the line, keeping Ottawa under.
Scott Brubacher was 4 of 6 from the line with all his points coming in the final 3:18 that helped him finish with 13 points, including 3 for 4 from downtown.
After Nick Cunningham made it a 78-75 game with two ticks left on the clock, Scott Brubacher again made it a two possession game with one second left to cap off the exciting game.
The Bluejays travel to Salina today to face the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes before returning home Saturday to take on Bethel.
Tabor then travels to Leavenworth Monday for a meeting with last season's regular season league champion St. Mary Spires.
Sterling
The Bluejays had to overcome an early 12-5 deficit Thursday night at Hillsboro against Sterling to prevail, 73-62.
Janzen scored a career-high 26 points to lead all scorers.
Falling behind 16-15 just over midway through the first half, a 7-0 run by the Bluejays allowed them to take control of the game.
The Bluejays got 16 more points from Ratzlaff and 11 from Kyle Kopper.
Tabor raised a dull 36 percent shooting the first half to 53 percent in the second for 43 percent from the night.
Ratzlaff and Nortey combined for 10 of the Bluejays' 30 rebounds.
Tabor 79, Ottawa 75
Ottawa — 26 49 75
Tabor — 41 38 79
Ottawa — Brad Shahan 8, McNaughton 15, Pat Siggal 13, Young 8, Cunningham 7, Porter 16, Curtis Brown 2, Sam Thiessen 6, Totals 30-61 9-23 6-10 75.
Tabor — S. Brubacher 13, Grant Brubacher 3, Janzen 7, Ratzlaff 24, Kopper 7, Randall 11, Nortey 11, Brandon Hendrix 3, Totals 24-48 8-18 23-29 79.
