KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Tabor College Men's Basketball team made their second trip of the season to Kansas City, Missouri, this time to face Avila University with the hopes of sweeping the season series against the Eagles. The Bluejays were coming off a solid win on the road over York University on Wednesday while the Eagles were coming off a loss at Southwestern College.
 
Kenyon Holcombe sank a three to put the Bluejays on the board first, and the two teams would go on trading buckets throughout the first half. The Bluejays would lead by as many as seven points during the first half, but the Eagles would come back to tie the game at the halftime break, 29-29. Jack Voth would lead Tabor in scoring in the first half with seven, while Holcombe and Kalep Crane had five, James Aboaba had four, Kade Hemmert and Thatcher McClure had three, and Jake Proctor had two.
 
The Bluejays would lead by as many as 12 in the second half, but the Eagles would continue to fight to get back in the game and would eventually tie the score at the end of regulation. A bucket from Jaiden Miller would give Tabor the lead at the start of overtime, but that would be the only lead for the Bluejays throughout the rest of the game. The Eagles would outscore the Bluejays 14-6 in the overtime period and would go on to win, 79-73. McClure would finish with 26, Voth with 15, and Crane would finish with 11 to round out the Bluejays in double figures. Holcombe would finish with nine, Aboaba had four, Hemmert and Miller each finished with three, and Proctor finished with two.
 
"A disappointing outcome today for our group", said Head Coach Matt Warren. "We didn't do a good job of finishing either half to close the game out and in OT they outplayed us. We did not do the things you have to do on the road to win which are take care of the ball, rebound and play with an edge. When we moved the ball, we scored, but credit to Avila they were intentional about taking away our twos and never let us get in a rhythm on offense. Defensively, we needed one stop and rebound to close the game and didn't block out."
 
The Bluejay men will return home for the rematch with Sterling College this coming Wednesday, February 7^th. The game will tip off at 8 pm and will be broadcast live on the KCAC Network as well as the Tabor College YouTube page.
 
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
 
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).