The Tabor College men defeated Haskell Indian Nations University for the second time this season Nov. 24. The Blue?jays won 77-71 behind 14 points from Zach Vanselow and Orson Thomas.
Three others reached double-digits for Tabor: Kyle de Blonk had 12, and Aaron Whitelaw and Damon Dechant each had 11.
With nine boards, Dechant paced the Bluejays to a 37-32 rebounding advantage.
But it was the Bluejays? ability to find the net with their shots that made the difference. Tabor trailed by as much as 14 during the first half, but rallied to pull within 40-36 by halftime.
Early in the second half, de Blonk ripped off a string of three 3-pointers to turn momentum toward the Bluejays.
Whitelaw?s shooting was also key. ?Aaron broke out with his best game so far,? coach Micah Ratzlaff said. ?He was the only one of our guys who shot the ball well all game.?
Thomas also had his best outing of the season so far, Ratzlaff said.
Tabor committed 17 turn?overs and took 10 fewer shots than Haskell. But when the Bluejays did get shots away, they hit nearly 50 percent?29-for-60. Tabor also worked its way to the foul line, and connected on 12 of 15 free-throws.
Kyle Kroeker went 4-for-4 from the line during the stretch run, effectively closing out the game for the Bluejays.
Coming?Tabor visits McPher?son to open conference play Dec. 4 at 8 p.m.
Tabor 77, Haskell 71
Nov. 24 at Haskell; Tabor 0-0, 4-3
TABOR (77): Thomas 6-9 (0-0) 2-2 14, Whitelaw 4-10 (3-5) 0-0 11, de Blonk 4-5 (3-4) 1-1 12, Kroeker 1-6 (0-2) 4-4 6, Jared Hett 0-4 (0-3) 0-0 0, Hardiman 0-1 (0-0) 2-2 2, Rousell 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Dechant 5-10 (0-0) 1-2 11, Vanselow 6-11 (1-1) 1-2 14, Funk 3-3 (0-0) 0-0 6, Nelsen 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Baar 0-1 (0-0) 1-2 1. Totals: 19-50 (3-11) 11-13 52.
HASKELL (71): Totals: 28-70 (4-19) 11-15 71.
Halftime: Haskell 40, Tabor 36. Rebounds: Tabor 37 (Dechant 9), Haskell 32. Assists: Tabor 13 (Hardiman 4), Haskell 14. Turnovers: Tabor 17 (Dechant 3, Hardiman 3, Whitelaw 3), Haskell 10. Steals: Tabor 4 (Thomas 2), Haskell 12. Total fouls: Tabor 15, Haskell 15. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.