The Bluejays used a pair of Seth Hardiman free throws to close the gap to 24-20 with 7:55 left in the first half, and Tabor put together a 10-3 run when Whitelaw and Zack Vanselow reentered the game.
Hett capped the run with his triple, but the lead was short-lived.
Ozarks immediately answered with back-to-back 2-pointers to reclaim the lead, 31-29, and held the Bluejays at bay the rest of the half.
Ozarks pushed its lead to 46-36 with 12:54 to go, and Tabor?s offense went cold, making just seven field goal attempts the rest of the way. The Bluejays finished the game frozen in a 2-for-11 shooting ice age.
Tabor made 10 of 12 first half free throw attempts, but went to the line just once after the intermission.
Sterling defeated Ozarks 63-57 Friday.
Lindenwood?The Lions hammered both Tabor and Sterling, using the first halves of a 25-point outing by Andre? Dickson and a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double by Toriano Adams to open up a 41-31 lead over the Bluejays at the intermission on Friday.
Despite finishing with six blocked shots, Tabor had few defensive answers for Lindenwood in the second half, as the Lions shot 16-for-30 from the floor and added 10 free throws to put the game out of reach.
Damon Dechant led Tabor with 18 points on 9-for-16 shooting along with 8 rebounds, two steals and a block.
Mike Rousell reached double-digits with 10 points.
Lindenwood belted Sterling 80-62 on Saturday.
Doane?Assistant coach Anthony Monson stood in for head coach Micah Ratzlaff for the second game in a row, and the Bluejays claimed their first road win of 2008.
“Winning on the road is always hard especially against a quality team like Doane,” said Monson. “Our guys really stepped up to the challenge, and played extremely hard while maintaining their focus in a very hostile environment.”
Tabor never trailed, as Jared Hett started the Bluejays off with a 3-pointer.
Leading 10-8, Tabor used an 11-2 run to build an 11-point halftime lead, but Doane did not fade away.
The Tigers pulled within seven early in the second half. Tabor stopped the rally with a 7-0 run, but allowed Doane to score the next nine straight points, chopping the Bluejay lead to 60-55 with 4:13 to go.
Zack Vanselow restored a 9-point lead with consecutive baskets?a jump shot at 3:20 and a layup at 1:59 assisted by Kyle de Blonk.
The Bluejays missed four foul shots during the final minute, but Aaron Whitelaw slammed the door with two free throws with 14 seconds left.
When Tigers? sniper Tyler Cyboron missed a last-ditch 3-pointer, Whitelaw collected the defensive rebound.
Whitelaw scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds. Tabor?s scorers were led by de Blonk, who had 16 points off the bench.
Kyle Kroeker added eight points, including two 3-pointers in the first half, and three Bluejays scored 7: Vanselow, Hett and Damon Dechant.
The Bluejays forced Doane into 21 turnovers and held the Tigers to 35 percent shooting from the field.
?I felt the defensive intensity was there throughout the night,? Monson said. ?We had a game plan for how we wanted to defend them and the guys worked extremely hard to execute it. Any time you hold a team under 60 points on the road you’re going to be in the game.?
Coming?Tabor (3-3) visited Haskell Indian Nations after the press deadline Monday for one last non-conference tuneup before opening the conference schedule Dec. 4 at McPherson.
