ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
The Tabor men’s basketball season got off to a bumpy start in Oklahoma over the weekend with a pair of losses in Oklahoma City.
The Bluejays ended the weekend with a 101-74 drubbing by Oklahoma Baptist Univsersity on Saturday.
By halftime, the Bison were already up by 17, 47-30, and cruised from there.
Tabor shot under 35 percent for the game, including 3-for-18 from behind the arc. The Bison, meanwhile were shooting a hot 59 percent, and attempted only six 3-pointers.
Brad Gattis scored 17 points to lead Tabor. The freshman shot 7-of-10 from the field and was 3-for-3 from the line.
Two other Bluejays scored in double figures: Micah Ratzlaff with 13 and Scott Brubacher 10.
The Bison held a 48-31 advantage in rebounds and outscored Tabor 12-4 on second-effort baskets.
On Friday, the Bluejays squared off against the home team, Oklahoma Christian College and came up on the short end of a 98-82 score.
Tabor, who trailed by six at intermission, 45-39, shot a respeactable 49 percent from the field but managed only 12 of 22 free throws.
The Eagles had better success, shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the line.
Neither team shot particularly well behind the arc. Tabor hit five for 14 for 36 percent while OCC went 3-of-9 for 33 percent.
Ratzlaff scored 15 points to lead a balanced Bluejay attack. Randall added 14, Brad Gattis 12 and Scott Brubacher and Grant Brubacher 10 each.
Osric Woods had an outstanding game for the Eagles, scoring 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-4 behind the arc and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
The Eagles held a 40-33 advantage on the boards. Brand Kephart pulled down a dozen for the Eagles to lead both teams. Randall had seven rebounds to lead Tabor.
“In both games, we had a lot of defensive difficulties,” coach Don Brubacher said. “The points came from different parts of the court in each of the two games.”
He said OCC hurt the Bluejays mostly from the wing, while OBU outmanned them in the post.
“Both teams had significant size-they’re strong people,” he said. “For them, it was very, very physical. For us it was trying to sneak around.
“They are very good teams, and when we made mistakes they took advantage of those mistakes pretty much without fail. And we made lots and lots of mistakes.”
Coming-The Bluejays will participate in the Sterling Classic this weekend and Saturday. Both games will start at 4 p.m. On Tuesday, Tabor travels to Alva, Okla., to play Northwestern Oklaham State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
