POINT LOOKOUT, Mo.   The Tabor College Men's Basketball team tipped off the 2023-24 season with a solid win on the road at the College of the Ozarks.
 
Four newcomers started in the season opener for the Bluejays, transfer guard Kalep Crane, transfer forward Kenyon Holcombe, and freshman guards Jack Voth and Jake Proctor, while sophomore forward Thatcher McClure rounded out the starting five.
 
A jumper from Jack Voth at the 18:27 mark started the scoring for the Bluejays. Tabor got out to a 10-6 lead before the Bobcats took their first timeout. After the timeout, the Bobcats went on a small run of their own and took the lead, before the two teams started trading buckets. After trading buckets for a stretch, the Bluejays would start to gain momentum off a dunk from Thatcher McClure and a block from Kenyon Holcombe that led to a Kalep Crane layup, forcing College of the Ozarks to call another timeout with the score being 21-16 in favor of the Bluejays.
 
Kalep Crane laid it in at the 00:57 mark to give Tabor a 14 point lead, their largest lead of the game and the largest overall lead of the game. Crane's layup proved to be the last bucket score by either team during the first half. The Bluejays had a whopping 14 points off turnovers in the first half, while College of the Ozarks had none. Both teams would prove to have almost even scoring from the bench as Tabor had nine points off the bench in the first half and the Bobcats had seven points off the bench. At the end of the first half, Tabor led the way: 40-26.
 
Early in the second half, the Bluejays would add onto their lead and it would be 18 points by the 8:02 mark. The Bobcats would claw their way back, getting as close as within seven points from the Bluejays. This effort from the Bobcats proved to not be enough, as Tabor was able to get out to a 13 point lead and seal the game. At the end of the game, the final score was 80-67 in favor of the Bluejays.
 
Kalep Crane led the Bluejay men with 20 points, while Jake Proctor and Thatcher McClure both finished with 18 points. James Aboaba led the Tabor bench with ten. Proctor, Crane, and Kreeland Avery all had three steals each which helped the Bluejays score 24 points off turnovers in total.
 
Tabor College Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Warren had this to say about the season opener, "Really proud of the group to go on the road to a hostile environment and win. We fought through adversity and did some really nice things. Really balanced contributions from both new guys and returners. We will enjoy this and get back to work on Monday!"
 
The Bluejay men will be back in action on Wednesday, November 1^st as they will travel to Crete, Nebraska to take on the Tigers of Doane University at 7:00 pm.
 
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).