Bluejays drop game at Columbia

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
Tabor College took another difficult step out of the KCAC Friday, losing 82-55 to Columbia College, the 15th-ranked team in NAIA Division I.

“We knew it was going to be difficult,” coach Don Brubacher said. “They’re always a good team and they’re having a good year.”

That might be an understatement, as the Cougars entered the game with a record of 12-1. Tabor came in at 4-7, but all four of wins came against KCAC teams.

The Bluejays hung tough for the first 10 minutes of the game, trailing by just five points midway through the opening half.

But the Cougars adjusted their defense and the Bluejays were out of sync the rest of the afternoon.

“We played reasonably well the first 10 minutes, but the game got away from us,” Brubacher said. “Instead of increasing our focus and playing better and stronger as the game went along, we just lost our intensity and it got harder for us to compete.”

The first half concluded with Columbia on top, 45-29. The Bluejays shot just under 42 percent for the half compared to a sizzling 61 percent for the host Cougars.

The second half wasn’t any better. Tabor shot 44 percent from the field, but connect on three of seven shots from 3-point range.

“We had a lot of trouble offensively and we struggled,” Brubacher said. “We didn’t adjust well to their defensive changes.”

Brubacher said traveling all the way to Columbia, Mo., and playing at noon shouldn’t have affected his Bluejays.

“Getting out of your routine is all part of maturing as a player and as a team,” Brubacher said. “You have to be able to show up and play when it’s time.”

The game meant one more loss to bigger and tougher team.

“We scheduled this game so we didn’t have such a long break at Christmas,” Brubacher said. “The goal was to maintain focus on basketball and not have a three-week break, but I’m not sure we accomplished that goal.”

Colby Bettles was the lone Bluejays to reach double figures. The Herington sophomore dropped in 10 points.

Columbia was led by Khamari Ballard with 26, but three other Cougars also reached double digits.

Tabor hit just under 43 percent of its shots from the field while Columbia connected on 56 percent. The Bluejays had a good day at the foul line, making 14 of 16.

Tabor was out-rebounded, 31-21, with Brad Gattis and Anthony Monson grabbing four apiece.

Tabor heads into the Christmas break at 4-8 overall, but 4-0 in KCAC play. But Brubacher was less than joyful about his team’s performance thus far.

“I’m not pleased with how we’ve played up to this point,” he said. “This may be as well as we could do with the team up to this point, but I know we have an awful lot of room for improvement.

“I just wish we could see more consistency in our play,” he added. “We have a lot of areas we need to grow in and I hope we’re capable of doing that fairly quickly when we come back.”

Coming-Tabor will return to action Jan. 2 and 3 when they host the Post Holiday Classic. Tabor will battle Northwestern Oklahoma on Friday and St. Gregory’s on Saturday.

“They’re both full-scholarship programs so they’ll be talented and athletic,” Brubacher said. “They’ll be a real challenge for us.”

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