ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DR
The physical strength of the Tabor College men’s team paid off Saturday night as they withstood the battering of the Ottawa Braves and won 74-50 to move 5-0 in KCAC play.
The Jays fell behind 14-10 in the first five minutes under a rain of early 3-pointers, but the Bluejays defense adjusted. Once Tabor shut off the 3-poiners, Ottawa lost any semblance of offensive flow the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the Bluejays played with a lot of grit and determination offensively. They took the lead for good, 18-17, on a couple of Dustin Frost free throws, then methodically continued to build the lead all the way to the end of the game. The final 24-point spread was the largest of the night for Tabor.
Tabor shot nearly 57 percent from the field, but only 5-of-11 from the behind the arc. Tabor’s bench outscored Ottawa’s 27-13.
Micah Ratzlaff led all scorers with 15 points. Ernest Nortey came off the bench to score 11 and matched the output of his roommate, starter Lance Redetzke.
Freshman Angela Kroeker and senior Janea Rademacher combined for 41 points to lead the Tabor women past the Braves, 82-72. The win broke a three-game losing streak in the KCAC and raised the women’s record to 2-3 in the conference and 8-7 overall.
Kroeker made most of her 22 points penetrating to the basket. She had 12 by halftime to pace Tabor to a 35-31 lead. The Bluejays led by as many as 14 in the second half, but twice the Braves pulled to within three.
Rademacher, made her biggest impact in the last five and a half minutes, when Tabor needed a boost. She scored nine of her 19 points during that stretch, and her rebounding and hustle carried the Jays to the final buzzer.
WEB FLASH: Tabor sweeps Ottawa Saturday night
