Tabor continues to roll with sweep of Southwestern

The Tabor College basketball teams swept their games against Southwestern College Saturday night. The Bluejay women, in a game that came down to the wire, defeated the Moundbuilders 77-75 to remain undefeated in the KCAC at 6-0, 10-6 overall. The Tabor men rolled to an 80-70 victory to improve to 5-1, 6-9. The Southwestern women dropped to 5-1 and 10-5, and the men to 3-3, 12-5.

WOMEN – The Tabor women remain the only undefeated team in the KCAC after Saturday?s contest, but it was a fight to the finish. Facing previously undefeated Southwestern, Tabor used team effort to aid its 77-75 victory.

Katlyn Mary opened scoring for Tabor with a three-point basket, but Southwestern took the lead at the 18:29 mark, 4-3. Although Tabor regained a 5-4 lead on a basket by Janelle Rust, the Moundbuilders regained the advantage and built an 18-8 double-digit lead at the 12:32 mark.

Tabor continued to play from behind, but things began to look up toward the end of the half when the Bluejays launched a 7-0 run that narrowed Southwestern?s lead to 31-28 with 3:23 remaining. Not able to take the lead, the Bluejays entered the half on the short side of a 38-33 score.

The Bluejays came out of the locker room and found success with a new offensive scheme. Rust scored two shots from the field on her way to a game-high 25 points, and a Southwestern turnover led to a Tabor basket by Nikki Lewis to tie the game at 42 with 17:17 left to play.

The game saw 12 lead changes, with both teams trading points. With 11:07 remaining, a basket by Rust gave the Bluejays a 55-51 lead, but Tabor turnovers contributed to a lead change back to Southwestern, 56-55, at 9:30. The Moundbuilders would eventually build a six-point lead, 67-61, with 4:43 remaining in the game. Tabor responded with a 5-0 run to again trail by one, 67-66, at 3:35. Rust sank a momentum-building three-point basket with 2:45 remaining to tie the game at 69, but Southwestern once again claimed a narrow lead.

With just under one minute remaining and trailing by one (75-74), Lewis grabbed a steal and drove to the basket to score two points with 20 seconds left on the clock for a 76-75 Tabor lead. Tynan Honn scored Tabor?s final points from the charity stripe, and the Bluejays held on for the 77-75 victory.

Joining Rust in double-digit scoring were Lewis with 17 points and Hannah Paust with 11.

MEN – The Tabor men only trailed once in their 80-70 victory over Southwestern Saturday. The Bluejay offense worked in rhythm, shooting 53 percent from the field. Senior Ryan Chippeaux led his team to victory with a game-high 20 points.

Tabor opened the game with a 5-0 run courtesy of a Chippeaux basket and consecutive three-point shot by Nick Sauer. Tabor maintained its lead until an 8-0 Southwestern surge left the Bluejays trailing 10-9 at the 13:40 mark. The Bluejays would not trail again, and held a 39-35 lead at the break.

Chance LeBlanc opened the second half with a shot behind the arc, and Chippeaux nailed two consecutive shots to give Tabor a 48-41 lead at 17:04. The Bluejays did not allow the Moundbuilders to draw within three points in the second half, and pushed the Tabor lead to 14 after two shots by Chippeaux from the charity stripe at the 2:42 mark.

Chippeaux landed a dunk off a Robbie Samuel assist with 40 seconds left and then contributed two free throws to seal Tabor?s 10-point victory.

Three Bluejays were double-digit scorers: Chippeaux (20 points), Samuel (12) and LeBlanc (11).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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