Tabor splits games at Sterling

The Tabor College basketball teams split two games at Sterling Saturday. The women won, 76-68, but the men lost in overtime, 100-96.Tonisha Dean scores early in the first half at Sterling. Dean led all scorers with 20 points in Tabor?s 76-68 win.

Women?Tabor used a big first-half performance to gain Saturday?s eight-point victory.

The Bluejays shot a blistering 68 percent from the field in the first half (17-25), including 50 percent from three (3-6). Tonisha Dean contributed 14 points to Tabor?s 43-28 halftime lead.

Tabor trailed for the game?s first seven minutes, falling behind by as many as six points. Dean scored eight of Tabor?s first 10 points, but Tabor trailed until Tena Loewen scored and Kayla Wilgers followed with a steal and basket that tied the game at 14. Following a 20-20 tie, Tabor closed the half with a 23-8 run. Hannah Willems contributed eight points in the effort, including a three-point play, a three-pointer and a two-point basket at the end of the half that put Tabor in front, 43-28.

The Bluejays continued to build their lead in the second half, extending it to 59-39 when Kaleigh Troxell drained a three-pointer with 12:59 to play. Tabor led by as many as 22 points, 66-44, with 9:56 left in the game.

With Tabor in front, 69-48, after a three-point play by Dean, Sterling scored eight straight points to cut the deficit to 13. Tabor increased its margin to 74-57 after a Wilgers three with 2:49 to play, but Sterling outscored the Bluejays 11-2 after that, leaving Tabor with an eight-point lead when time expired.

Dean led all scorers with 20 points. Loewen added 12, Wilgers 11 and Mallory Zuercher 10. John Jedneak shoots for two during the first half at Sterling. Jedneak had a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Tabor?s 100-96 overtime loss.

Men?Victory slipped through Tabor?s fingers in a four-point overtime loss at Sterling.

Lance Carter returned to the court for the Bluejays for the first time this season, having missed previous games as a result of what coach Micah Ratzlaff earlier referred to as an ?unfortunate situation.?

Sterling shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half (17-34), but Tabor took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime, having shot 46.9 percent from the field (15-32), including 42.9 percent from three (6-14), and making 12 of 17 free throws (70.6 percent).

Tabor?s shooting percentage dropped to 37.2 in the second half and overtime (16-43), while Sterling shot 48.6 percent (18-37) during that time to claim the win.

The teams battled to a 14-14 tie, but with a three-point play by Dewayne Biggs, Tabor took the lead and kept it the rest of the first half. The Bluejays led by as many as 39-31 after Andrew Thomas made his second of three dunks with 3:28 left in the half. The first half ended with Tabor in front, 48-42.

With Tabor leading, 54-47, Sterling went on an 11-2 run, boosted by eight points from Brandon Givens, to take a 58-56 lead with 13:02 to play. The Warriors increased their advantage to 67-61 before a string of seven points put Tabor back in front.

The teams traded scores and the lead until Sterling took a 78-74 lead with 3:44 to play. Malik Brooks ignited a 7-0 Tabor burst with a three-pointer, and by the time Carter scored with 31 seconds to play, the Bluejays were back in front by three, 81-78. But Sterling?s leading scorer, Brandon Stacker, made a basket with just 19.6 seconds left and was fouled. The three-point play tied the game at 81. From there, a shot by Biggs missed its mark and Sterling regained possession only to turn the ball over after a deep inbounds pass. With 2 seconds to work with, JT Nemit missed a shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

Andrew Thomas scored first in the extra period, but Sterling responded with a string of six points. Thomas scored, and Nemit added a pair of free throws to tie the game at 87, but Sterling established a 95-87 margin with 1:10 to play, a deficit too large to overcome. Thomas cut the lead to 96-91 with a basket with 41 seconds left, and Biggs scored for a 98-93 score with 19.3 left. A pair of free throws put Sterling at 100 points for the game, and Kyle Baker made a three-pointer for Tabor with 3.3 seconds left, bringing the final margin to four.

Thomas led Tabor with 22 points. Brooks added 12, Biggs and Justin Malan each had 11, Nemit had 10 and John Jedneak scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Coming?Tabor will play at Ottawa Wednesday. The women play at 6 p.m., and the men play at 8 p.m.

For scores and updates during games, follow Janae on Twitter @janaerem13

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