HILLSBORO, Kan. – On Thursday night, the No. 10-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team went on the road to battle the Tabor Collee Bluejays in Hillsboro, Kan. The tilt marked another opportunity for the Moundbuilders to earn a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory on their difficult 2022-23 slate. After a sizzling hot first-half start, the Builders would coast to a 72-46 win over Tabor.

An opening half for Southwestern, in which they shot the ball at a 15-of-31 (48.4%) clip and 6-of-15 (40%) from deep, would play half of the part in the dominant 39-15 opening frame. Tabor was held to only 5-of-24 shooting in the first set of 20 minutes, struggling to find any sort of space to get shots off against a suffocating Moundbuilder defensive unit. It was a 20-3 run for SC that started this game over the first eight minutes and change, as the Bluejays did not seem ready to go from the outset of the battle. The 24-point lead at the break would be more than enough for the Builders, s they were playing at an extremely high level.

Half number two was a much better one from Tabor, but Southwestern took care of business with a 12-of-26 (46.2%) shooting performance in the second act. The Bluejays were able to hit at a 40% clip, knocking down 12-of-30 from the floor in the latter half of play. All in all, SC added two more points to their lead at the final buzzer, finishing the game with a 72-46 triumph over the homestanding Jays.

Southwestern had four players reach 10 or more points in the tilt, as Cooper Pierce was the squad's leader with 18. He made 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-8 from three-point land. Cevin Clark, though he was guarded tightly for the entire game, ended up contributing 15 points to the effort. He sunk six shots on 10 attempts, and needed just one three-pointer and two made free throws to reach his ultimate total. Andrew O'Brien had a great night on offense, as well, hitting on four three-point shots and a single basket from inside the arc. He took 11 shots in the game, with seven of those coming from deep. Finally, Jarvis Jennings shot 50% from the field and poured in 10 points for the Builders.

O'Brien was a mass distributor for Southwestern, handing out nine dimes to his SC teammates over the course of 40 minutes. He nearly achieved triple-double status with his efforts as a passer. The next closest was Jennings, who dished out three assists in the battle, while Pierce was responsible for a pair of setups.

O'Brien hauled in 13 rebounds, leading the Builder squad. He secured four offensive rebounds and nine on defense, in his second straight double-double, with the effort on the backboards. Pierce was mightily impressive as a rebounder, as well, tallying 11 boards in the blowout win. Deng Bol was the only other member of the squad with five or more rebounds, having added six to the team's box score.

The squad had five steals overall, with O'Brien snagging a pair of those. Pierce, Jennings and Phillip Smith were able to rack up the remaining three thefts. Pierce was credited with the team's lone blocked shot in the contest.

Southwestern (9-1, 4-1 KCAC) earned their first relatively easy conference win over Tabor on Thursday, but will now face off with a York University team that has just one KCAC loss to this point in the season on Saturday. The battle will be played at home inside Stewart Field House at 4 p.m., and will be the team's Holiday Game, where fans are encouraged to wear their holiday sweaters. The Moundbuiders will then play McPherson College at home the following Saturday at 3 p.m.

--buildersports.com--