HILLSBORO, Kan. - The Tabor College Men's Basketball team hosted the Eagles of Avila University in their third conference game of the season. The Bluejay men were coming off tough a non-conference tilt at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma before a break for Thanksgiving, while the Eagles were coming off an Exhibition matchup at NCAA Division II Rockhurst University on Monday night.
 
The scoring started out somewhat even for both teams, they would trade buckets, but they would also go on their own short runs. Avila went ahead by four at the 16:49 with a three from Cooper Smith. The Bluejays would tie the score with buckets from Kalep Crane and Kenyon Holcombe, and the Eagles would go back up by three before a three from Kade Hemmert tying it back up again. Hemmert and Jaiden Miller would each hit two free throws to give the Bluejays a four-point lead. The Eagles would go on another one of their runs, eventually leading by eight at the 3:55 mark. The Bluejays would respond and go on a 9-2 run to finish out the first half, ending the half with a one-point lead, 36-35. Crane led the Bluejays in scoring for the first half with nine points while Jack Voth had seven while Hemmert and Thatcher McClure each had five. 
 
The second half would see the Bluejays lead for the entire rest of the way. Tabor got out to a nine-point lead at the 16:28 mark, thanks to a three drained by McClure. The teams would trade buckets, but the Bluejays jumped out to a 14-point lead thanks to a bucket from Crane at the 9:21 mark. The Bluejays would see their lead reach as large as 16 points at the 5:54 mark, however the Eagles would chip away and continue to show life. Tabor would come away with an 11-point victory, getting their first conference win. All five Bluejay starters finished in double figures: Crane with 17, Voth with 14, McClure with 13, Holcombe with 12, and Proctor with 11. 
 
Tabor College Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Warren had this to say about his team's solid performance in the win, "I am proud of our team's fight and perseverance tonight. Anytime you can win in this league, that's a great win. Credit to Avila, they played really hard and that led to 14 more shot attempts for them between offensive rebounds and turnovers. Typically, those are hard advantages to overcome but because we guarded for stretches and were efficient offensively tonight, we were able to do that. We have really taken care of the ball all season but tonight we were careless with the ball. We have a lot of work to do to prepare for a really good Sterling team on Saturday."
 
The Bluejay men will get back on the road and head to Sterling to face the Warriors of Sterling College this coming Saturday, December 2^nd. The game will tip of at 7:00pm. The game will be broadcast for free on the KCAC Network, here.
 
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).