Bulldog men fall in overtime

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

There must be somebody from Tabor College who spends time sticking pins into their McPherson College Bulldog doll.

The Bulldogs once again felt the Bluejays' pain Saturday night at the Sport Center, as Mac let a nine-point lead get away before eventually losing in overtime to the conference leader, 79-68.

The Bulldogs could have closed within a game of the KCAC lead had they held on, but they now trail Tabor by three games with two weeks left to play. Friends and Sterling remain in second, a game back of the Bluejays and two up on the Bulldogs.

Mac has suffered its share of countless tough losses to Tabor, but this one had to rank right up there.

"It was just a great game," a dejected McPherson coach Roger Trimmell said. "Both teams played hard and it was a great atmosphere. The team that wins it (the KCAC) finds ways to win games like these. It hurts, but you just have to forget about it and move on."

The Bulldogs led 29-25 at the half and with nine minutes to go, pushed the lead to 54-45 before a roaring near-sellout crowd.

But Tabor didn't get to be the KCAC leader by panicking, and it promptly went on an 11-0 run to regain the lead.

The Bulldogs led 61-60 when Brad Gattis buried a difficult trey for the Bluejays. But Roy McDonald made a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.

"You have to give Roy a lot of credit for stepping up there and making them in that situation," Trimmell said.

The Bluejays scored the first 8 points of the OT and the Bulldogs never seriously threatened. Tabor was 9 of 9 at the line in the extra session.

"Tabor hit some really big shots and a lot of times we had a hand in their face," Trimmell said.

Tyson Ratzlaff led the Bluejays with 21 points, while Anthony Monson added 16. Also in double figures were Gattis (14), Moundridge graduate Cody Schafer (13) and Jared Reese (10).

The Bulldogs received another brilliant effort from All-American candidate Kenny Romero, as he scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. McDonald scored 15 and Brian Hooks added 10. It was a well-played game, as Tabor committed only 11 turnovers, one less than Mac.

The Bulldogs did a good job on the boards, as they outrebounded Tabor, 39-36.

The Bulldogs are now 16-8 overall and go on the road Thursday to play Kansas Wesleyan before returning home Saturday to take on Ottawa. Mac's remaining games are against teams below it in the standings.

"We have four games left and we need to win them all," Trimmell said.

The Bulldogs need to finish in the top four to earn a home berth for the KCAC playoffs.

Mac (68) -- McDonald 5 4-4 15; Carter 3 0-2 9; Hooks 4 1-1 10; Soto 1 0-0 3; Romero 19 7-7 27; Gustafson 2 0-0 4. Totals -- 25 12-14 68. 3-pointers -- Carter 3, McDonald 1, Hooks 1, Soto 1.

Tabor (79) -- Brubacher 0 2-2 2; Ratzlaff 7 4-5 21; Gattis 6 0-0 14; Schafer 3 6-6 13; Monson 7 2-2 16; Reese 4 0-0 10; Bettles 1 1-2 3. Totals -- 28 15-17 79. 3-pointers -- Ratzlaff 3, Gattis 2, Reese 2, Schafer 1.