Jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the opening minutes, Tabor picked up its first win since Jan. 7. The Bluejays beat Bethel 77-42 Tuesday night in Newton.
After establishing an early lead, Tabor survived a first half Bethel run that pulled the Threshers to 19-15 with 6:30 to play in the first stanza.?Tabor outscored Bethel 13-4 to end the half 32-19.
Tabor opened the second half with a 10-2 spurt. Less than four minutes into the second half, the Bluejays lead had built to 42-21. The second half rout continued and Tabor went up by 30 at 65-35 with 5:16 remaining.
Tabor?showed?a new defensive?look on Thursday running a full court and 3/4 court press at times in the ball game. Coach Micah Ratzlaff said his team had been struggling defensively so he tried something new.
?We worked on the press all week,? said Ratzlaff. ?We?ve been struggling defensively. I wanted to give our guys a chance.?
The press employed by Tabor led to Bethel turning the ball over 19 times and shooting a mere 31.8 percent from the field. Tabor finished with 12 fast break points compared to two from the Threshers.
Damon Dechant was the leading scorer for Tabor with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. Michael Janzen finished the night in double figures with 10 points on 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Other scorers for Tabor were Jason Hett (8), Lawson Kingsley (8), Cody Arnold (7), Ryan Chippeaux (7), David Loewen (6), Rob Moore (4), Daniel Hann (4), Clay Shewey (3), Gavin Serene (3), Curtis Dick (2), and Conner Hampton (2).
Tabor improves to 4-7 in the KCAC, and 7-13 overall. Tabor travels to McPherson on Saturday.
