ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY JIM PAULUS
The Tabor men?s team finished their regular season with a three-game winning streak after beating McPherson College 85-66 Monday night.
The game was close for most of the first half, before the Bluejays pulled ahead by 10 at the break.
Tabor kept up the pressure in the second half with an early run that increased the lead to 20.
The remainder of the game turned sloppy as McPherson attempted a comeback.
Eric Driggers led Tabor with 21 points, while Kevin Koehn and Chad Premer each added 17.
The Bluejays held Josh Alexander, the KCAC?s leading scorer to 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field. Antonio Ford led the Bulldogs with 16 points.
Another key factor was Tabor?s ability to outrebound McPherson by 11. The Bulldogs lead the KCAC in rebounding.
Coach Don Brubacher was encouraged by the improvement his team is showing over the last stretch of games.
?We had 23 assists tonight and are starting to see the floor better,? he said. ?We are also starting to make some plays. We are executing the basics of the game better over the last few games.?
Southwestern?Defense led the way as the Tabor College shut down Southwestern 91-64 Saturday at home.
Tabor?s defense took control in the first half. Southwestern managed only four field goals in the first half and only one in the last 15 minutes of the half. They ended the half shooting 16 percent from the field.
?I thought we did an excellent job defensively in every respect,? said coach Don Brubacher. ?We got out on the shooters well and did a great job on defensive rebounds.?
Southwestern?s Devin Nightengale, favored to win KCAC ?Freshman of the Year,? was held to 14 points, all in the second half.
?Nightengale is a player who is very difficult to contain for an entire game,? Brubacher said. ?He had a couple of very good stretches in the second half.?
The Bluejays continued their hot shooting, hitting 49 percent from the field, including an impressive 10 for 19 from 3-point range.
Kevin Koehn led Tabor with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. Chris Popp chipped in 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Chad Premer continued his hot shooting with 13 points. After a slow start, Premer has shot 64 percent from behind the arc over the last five games.
?We played good basketball,? Brubacher said. ?It was a good representation of how we have been working to play the game and I am pleased with that.?
Central Christian?A balanced scoring attack enabled Tabor to overcome 35 points from Central Christian?s Matt Turner in a 94-73 non-conference win last Tuesday night.
Six players finished in double figures for the Bluejays. Kevin Koehn led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Brown, Chad Premer and Eric Driggers each added 13 points. Point guard Dustin Frost contributed 12 points and seven assists and Jared Hartter scored 10 points off the bench.
After falling behind early 4-5, Premer and Driggers hit back-to-back 3-point baskets to fuel an 8-0 run. The Bluejays would never trail again.
Overall, Tabor hit 18 3-pointers on their way to 49 percent shooting for the night.
Central Christian relied heavily Turner, who added seven rebounds to his game-high 35 points.
?Turner is a good player and a guy who can score,? Brubacher said. ?He is a fine young man and a class act on and off the court.?
