Tabor sweeps Bethany

The Tabor College basketball teams swept Bethany Thursday night. The women won, 56-35. The men followed with a narrow, 87-84 victory. Tena Loewen draws a foul during the first half against Bethany. She made one of two attempts to give Tabor a 19-9 lead.

Women?Tabor defeated a Swede squad still seeking its first conference win, 56-35.

Bethany jumped to an early, 5-0 but then did not score again for nearly 11 minutes. Tabor, meanwhile, quickly tied the game and took the lead for good when Taylor Hurd drained a three-pointer with 13:15 left in the first half. Seven Bluejays contributed to Tabor?s 18-0 run that put the Bluejays firmly in front, 18-5, when Tena Loewen scored at 8:47.

Bethany broke its scoring drought with a basket by Royce Shields at 7:54. The game?s leading scorer, Shields scored a second time to narrow Tabor?s lead to single figures one last time, 18-9. From there, the Bluejays used a 9-1 run to take a 27-10 lead into halftime.

Tabor continued to build its lead. Loewen and Kayla Wilgers combined for eight consecutive points, boosting Tabor?s lead to 39-16 when Wilgers made a three at 11:11. Wilgers drained a second three two minutes later, and Hurd answered with a three that gave the Bluejays their largest lead of the night, 45-19, with 7:52 to play. Coach Shawn Reed began to clear his bench, and Tabor went on to win by 21.

During the second half, Tabor lost both Dean and Sam Short to injury, putting a damper on the victory.

Loewen led the Bluejays with 10 points. Shields scored 11 for Bethany.Dewayne Biggs eyes the basket during the first half against Bethany. Biggs was Tabor?s leading scorer with 18 points.

Men?Thursday?s game featured two teams tied for first in the KCAC standings. At the end of the night, Tabor came away with a narrow victory, despite leading by as many as 17 points in the second half.

Both teams came out of the gate ready to play, and the lead changed hands four times in the game?s first six minutes.

With Tabor trailing 9-6 after the game?s leading scorer, Cody Harris, scored at 15:21, Andrew Thomas responded with a one-handed slam dunk over the Swede defender that brought the crowd to its feet. Thomas was fouled on the play, but missed the three-point opportunity. Dewayne Biggs fired off back-to-back baskets that put Tabor in front, 12-9, and the Bluejays never trailed again.

With continued success inside, Tabor outscored the Swedes 20-10 over the next 8:15, enjoying a 32-19 margin when Malik Brooks drained a three with 6:00 left in the first half. But the Swedes used an 11-4 surge over the next two minutes to close the gap to 36-30. Tabor increased its lead to 10 a few times, but a Swede three at the buzzer cut it to 43-36 at halftime. The teams displayed nearly identical field goal shooting percentages in the first half. Tabor made 16 of 36 attempts (44.4 percent), while Bethany made 15 of 34 (44.1 percent).

Tabor took a 10-point lead out of the break, but Harris used a three and a dunk to bring Bethany within 46-41. But Tabor embarked on a 17-5 run after that, taking a 63-46 lead?its largest of the night?with 14:00 to play after Justin Malan and Kyle Baker scored threes just 29 seconds apart. With Tabor in front, 65-48, Bethany outscored Tabor 21-10 over the next 5:18, using back-to-back three-pointers to bring the score to 75-69 with 7:22 left in the game.

The Bluejays regained a double-digit margin and led, 84-73, with 3:01 to go. But the Swedes would not go quietly, scoring a basket, then a pair of free throws, then a three-pointer by Harris that brought Bethany within 84-80 with 1:22 left. Biggs was called for a technical foul, and Bethany?s Jonathan Gidson made one of two free throws, cutting Tabor?s lead to three. After Baker missed a pair of free throws, Harris cut the lead to 84-82 with a free throw with 42 seconds left. Brooks made two free throws, and, following a Bethany turnover, made one more from the charity stripe, extending Tabor?s lead to 87-82 with 6.3 left. Bethany?s Alex Peterson made a basket at the buzzer, bringing the final margin to three.

Biggs led Tabor with 18 points. Andrew Thomas scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Malan scored 13 points and Brooks 10. Harris led all scorers with 20 points for Bethany.

Coming?Tabor will play at Sterling Saturday. The women will play at 5 p.m., and the men will play at 7 p.m.

For scores and updates during games, follow Janae on Twitter @janaerem13

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