Tabor sweeps games at Bethany

The Tabor basketball teams swept their games at Bethany College Saturday night. The women won by a score of 68-39 and improved to 11-1 in the KCAC, 15-7 overall, while the men defeated the Swedes 85-81 in double overtime and improved to 8-4, 9-12.

WOMEN ? While the first half of Saturday?s game at Bethany remained close, with Tabor holding a five-point, 28-23 lead, the Bluejays dominated the second half for an eventual 68-39 victory.

The Swedes scored first with a basket from behind the arc at 18:10 for an early lead, but Janelle Rust answered with a three-point basket one minute later to tie the game. Rust scored the Bluejays? first eight points, contributing to an 8-4 lead with 16:02 remaining in the half, but the Swedes surged to tie the game at 8 and later at 10. Tynan Honn sank back-to-back baskets for a 14-10 Tabor advantage, and the Bluejays later surged 5-0 for a seven-point, 19-12 lead. The Swedes answered to tie the game at 23 with 1:18 left before half, but Jazmyne Smith and Katlyn Mary scored the half?s final two baskets to give Tabor the five-point lead.

Honn opened scoring in the second half and a Rust three-point basket followed by a traditional three-point play by Honn gave Tabor a double-digit, 36-25, lead at 17:01. Rust drained another three a minute later, and the Bluejays pushed the lead to 22, 50-28, after a Nikki Lewis three-point basket followed by two back-to-back baskets by Hannah Paust and another Lewis score from behind the arc. Molly Moran hit a three at 8:12 and Rust again contributed a basket behind the arc for a 57-34 Tabor lead with 5:43 left in the game. Honn had a three-point play at 4:53, which ignited a 9-0 Tabor surge for a 30-point, 66-36, lead with 1:40 left to play, the Bluejays? largest advantage of the night. Molly Dick scored Tabor?s final points with 17 seconds left to seal the 29-point victory.

Rust led the Tabor attack with 18 total points, followed by Honn with 13. The Bluejays shot 39 percent from the field (24-61), 36 percent from behind the arc (9-25).

MEN- Tabor snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday night with a double overtime, 85-81, victory over Bethany, a win that dampened a Swede team boasting three straight victories prior to Saturday?s contest.

The teams traded scores to open the game until Chance LeBlanc and Robbie Samuel hit back-to-back baskets for an 8-4 Tabor lead six minutes into the game. In a fast-paced contest, the Bluejays built their largest lead of the night, 19-10, after a Nick Sauer basket at 8:23. However, a 9-0 Swede surge left the game tied at 19 with 5:19 left in the opening half. The Swedes jumped to a 24-19 lead at 4:38 and burst to a seven-point, 28-21, margin at 3:58, but consecutive scores by Nick Sauer, Cameron Rust and Reggie Butler narrowed the Swedes? lead to one, 28-27, with 2:24 left in the half. The teams traded scores, and Brent Jackson scored Tabor?s final four points of the half, but Bethany held a slim, 32-31, lead at the break.

The Swedes twice built a six-point lead in the first four minutes of the second half, but back-to-back baskets by LeBlanc and Michael Janzen narrowed the gap to 41-39 at 16:15. After a Samuel free-throw, JT Nemit scored from behind the arc to tie the game at 43 at the 14:08 mark. Tabor maintained the advantage until the 9:11 mark, when Bethany took a 51-50 lead. However, a three-point play by Marc Hopkinson followed by a Jackson basket and Butler dunk gave Tabor a six-point advantage, 57-51. The Swedes then burst to outscore the Bluejays 10-4 to tie the game at 61 with 5:49 left to play. The score remained tight, and when Samuel scored at 2:56, the Bluejays were up by three, 68-65. Free throws by the Swedes tied the game at 68 with 1:20 left on the clock. Each team had opportunity to score, but the buzzer ended with both teams locked at 68.

Overtime began with a Swede basket, but Jackson free throws tied the game at 70. Chippeaux baskets from the charity stripe gave Tabor a 72-70 lead at 2:51, but the Swedes surged 6-0 to lead by four, 76-72, with 1:15 remaining. A Rust basket at 1:07 narrowed the gap to two, 76-74, and a missed Bethany three-point shot and Tabor rebound kept the Bluejays in the game. Jackson scored on a second chance basket with 3 seconds left to tie the game at 76. A Bethany shot at the buzzer hit the rim but did not fall to send the game into the second overtime period.

The teams once again traded scores, and the game was tied at 78 at 4:34. Samuel hit two free throws to put the Bluejays up by two, 80-78, and Tabor gained a bit of distance from the Swedes when Sauer made a basket at 1:44 and Samuel followed with two free throws for an 84-79 Tabor lead with 54 seconds remaining. Bethany scored two from the charity stripe 9 seconds later to narrow the gap to 84-81, but it would be the Swedes? final points of the night as a Hopkinson free throw with 0.6 left on the clock sealed the four-point Tabor victory.

Jackson led Tabor with a game-high 22 points, followed by Samuel with 17. Tabor ended the night with 46 percent shooting from the field (31-67).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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