Bluejays sweep Bulldogs, Eagles

Lance Carter draws a foul at the end of the first half at McPherson Saturday. He made both free throws to give Tabor a 41-31 halftime lead.The seventh-ranked Tabor College men?s basketball team improved to 16-0 in KCAC play with victories over Oklahoma Wesleyan and McPherson last week.

McPherson?Tabor earned a double-digit victory Saturday, 91-80.

The teams combined for 26 made three-point attempts in the contest. Tabor shot 48 percent from beyond the arc in the game (12-25). McPherson made 9-of-16 second-half three-point attempts for a total of 45 percent on the night (14-31).

Five of Tabor?s threes came in the first seven minutes of action. Malik Brooks hit three of them to contribute to a 21-8 Bluejay lead.

McPherson fired back with three consecutive treys to trim the margin to four. Tabor led, 30-27, with 4:32 left in the first half, but Alan Urrutia drained a three-pointer to ignite an 11-4 burst to end the half, giving Tabor a double-digit, 41-31, advantage at intermission.

Tabor continued to build its lead after halftime. Lance Carter scored six points for the Bluejays in a 1:30 stretch, then D?Marco Smith made a trey to give Tabor a 55-35 lead with 16:17 to go. Tabor?s largest lead was 76-54 after Tullio Parry scored with 7:29 to play.

The Bulldogs made five three-pointers in less than three minutes to narrow the gap to 83-73, but Tabor?s lead remained in double figures the rest of the way, and the Bluejays went on to win by 11.

?(McPherson) shot it really well in the second half,? coach Micah Ratzlaff said. ?I thought almost every three they shot, we were there. We just didn?t ever let up. We continued to score, we continued to try to guard, and because of that we were able to keep that halftime lead.?

Carter led the Bluejays with a double-double performance with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Brooks scored 17 points, Smith 16 and Davaghndre Jones 11.

Oklahoma Wesleyan?Tabor pulled off another close victory to remain perfect in KCAC play Thursday, 89-86.

Tabor built a 12-6 advantage after Malik Brooks drained a three with 14:29 left in the first half, but then, the Bluejays went 7:15 without making a field goal, adding just six free-throws during that stretch. That allowed Oklahoma Wesleyan to build a 28-18 lead.

D?Marco Smith broke the drought with a three-pointer, which was the start of a 23-7 run to conclude the half. Lance Carter contributed 11 points to the effort, including a three-pointer to close the half and give Tabor a 41-35 advantage.

Oklahoma Wesleyan trimmed the margin to two with a pair of threes in the first two minutes of the second half, but Tabor stretched its lead to 10, 53-43.

The Bluejays built their largest advantage, 70-54, when Kyle Baker hit a trey with 11:00 to play, but then the Eagles made five three-pointers over the next five minutes to trim Tabor?s lead to 75-74.

The Eagles led briefly, 78-77, and the game was tied three times after that, including at 84 with 1:43 to play. Brooks drained his fourth three-pointer to put Tabor back in front, but two Eagle free throws brought the game within 87-86 with 24 seconds to go.

A Tabor turnover gave the Eagles the ball with 17.8 seconds left, but Tullio Parry stole the ball and was fouled. He made both charity shots, and a tying three-point attempt by the Eagles missed its mark.

?It was just like every other game,? coach Micah Ratzlaff said. ?We had a double-digit lead and it went away. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) also hit 14 threes that night, so they shot the ball really well.?

Carter led all scorers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Smith added 17 points, and Brooks 16. John Jedneak grabbed 10 rebounds.

Coming?Tabor (16-0, 23-3) will host Sterling (8-9, 10-16) Thursday at 8 p.m. The Bluejays will host Saint Mary (8-8, 13-11) Saturday at 7 p.m.

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