Hillsboro, Kan. – The Tabor College men's basketball team rode a big second half to down the nationally ranked Southwestern College Moundbuilders by the score of 80-65 Saturday night in Hillsboro, Kan.

Southwestern, who was tied atop the KCAC standings, came into the game ranked 14th nationally in the current NAIA top 25 poll, with a record of 18-2 overall.

Despite an impressive record the Bluejays would not be intimidated as they opened up the game with a 16-5 run over the first seven and a half minutes of play to build an early 11-point advantage. Tabor would continue to lead throughout the half until Southwestern's three-point basket at the buzzer gave the Moundbuilders their first lead of the night at 32-31 heading into the halftime break.

Despite letting their first half lead slip away, the Bluejays responded in the second half and used a 16-2 run over the first six minutes of play to quickly regain the lead and open up a 13-point advantage at 47-34. This time Tabor would not let its lead slip away as the Bluejays continued to hold a double-digit lead for most of the second half before coming away with the 15-point victory.

Four Bluejays reached double figures on the night led by senior Joe Penn with 22 points on 7-13 shooting from the field while Ryan Chippeaux recorded another double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Senior Gavin Serene and junior Lawson Kingsley also reached double figures on the night with 11 points each as the pair combined to shoot 5-9 from behind the arc for the game. Missing two of their regular post players, the Bluejays turned to senior Phillip Jimenez and sophomore Nic Leppke, for help inside. Jimenez added nine points and pulled down eight rebounds while Leppke playing in the first varsity game of his career gave the Bluejays solid minutes down low finishing with two points and two assists in 13 minutes of action. Despite being undersized down low the Bluejays managed to win the battle on the glass by two at 42-40.

Tabor finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the arc while dishing out 14 assists to 13 turnovers on the night. Senior Kyle Wallace the KCAC leader in assists led the way with five assists while committing one turnover for the game.

Defensively the Bluejays frustrated Southwestern all night as they held the KCAC lead in points per game to 15 points below their season average while forcing 16 turnovers on the night.  

Tabor (5-5 KCAC, 9-12 Overall) will travel to McPherson, Kan. to take on the McPherson College Bulldogs, Thursday Jan. 26. The junior varsity game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with the varsity game to follow at 8 p.m.