The Tabor College basketball teams started the KCAC season with a pair of victories over Bethel Thursday. 
Women—Tabor overcame a poor half of shooting to achieve a 62-53 victory Thursday.
The Bluejays made just six of 31 attempts from the field in the first half (19 percent). Coach Shawn Reed said it was not so much poor shot selection as simply a matter of shots refusing to fall.
That led to Bethel taking an 8-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and increasing it to 21-18 by halftime. Tabor scored just five points in the first five minutes of the second period.
Tabor began to heat up in the third quarter, scoring more points in the period than in the first two combined. Kaleigh Troxell made two three-pointers in the quarter to help light the fire. With Bethel in front, 28-27, Tabor outscored the Threshers 19-3 to take a 43-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
Bethel rallied to with a 10-3 run to close the gap to five, but Tabor stretched its margin back to double figures, 54-44, when Troxell scored with 2:33 to play. In the end, Tabor secured a nine-point victory.
Morgan Ediger scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. Kristyn Wedel also scored in double figures with 12 points. 
Men—Tabor handed the Threshers their first loss of the season to the tune of 81-71.
The Bluejays started slowly, scoring just two points in the first five minutes of action. Lance Carter and Kyle Baker later made two treys in a 30-second span, and from there, the Bluejays built a 19-9 advantage midway through the half. When Bethel drew within four, Julian Winton drained a three-pointer, and Tabor built its largest lead of the night, 33-20. Bethel closed the gap to 35-28 at halftime.
Tabor’s offensive production improved in the second half as the Bluejays made 16 of 29 attempts from the field after intermission (55 percent) after making 12 of 36 in the first half (33 percent).
Tabor maintained the lead the rest of the way, although the Threshers closed the gap to one, 43-42, at the 14:18 mark. With Tabor leading by two, 56-54, after a Bethel trey, Baker answered with a three-pointer of his own, which was the start of a 14-5 Bluejay run capped by a Winton trey with 4:23 to go. The closest Bethel got after that was within four, 72-68. Alan Urrutia scored seven of Tabor’s final nine points, including four at the charity stripe, to help nail down the win.
Carter led the Bluejays with 21 points. Winton scored 15, and Baker 11. Jonathan Gibson recorded 13 rebounds to go with his seven points.
Coming—Tabor will travel to Sterling Saturday. The women will play at 5 p.m. The men will play at 7 p.m.
For scores and updates during games, follow Janae on Twitter @janaerem13
