HILLSBORO, Kan. – The Tabor College Men's Basketball team returned to the comforts of Tabor College Gymnasium last night for a rematch with KCAC rival Sterling College. The Bluejays were coming off a disappointing overtime setback at Avila University on Saturday, while the Warriors were coming off an 85-59 drubbing at the hands of Southwestern College. The Bluejays would be without
Jake Proctor after he suffered an injury in Saturday's game at Avila.
After
Jack Voth scored the opening bucket, the two teams would go on trading buckets throughout the first half, but the Bluejays would start to pull away at the 10:23 mark with two made free throws from
Jaiden Miller. Two made free throws by Voth at the 7:27 mark would put Tabor up by 15, their largest lead of the half. The Warriors would chip away at Tabor's lead and get it down to nine, but the Bluejays would push their lead back out to 15 with a bucket from
Kalep Crane with three seconds to go and the score at the end of the first half would be 38-23. At the end of the first half the Bluejays were led in scoring by
Thatcher McClure, with 15 points, while Voth had nine, Miller and
Kade Hemmert each had five, and Crane had four.
Tabor would keep their lead throughout the second half, although Sterling would continue to try to chip away at the lead. A three from McClure would put the Bluejay men up by 18 and would give them their largest lead of the game. Just like in the first half, Sterling would chip away, this time they would pull back to within eight but their efforts would be in vain as the Bluejays would kick their lead back out and would end up winning by 15. McClure would explode for 30 points in just his third game back in action to lead Tabor in scoring and brought in 10 rebounds to record a double-double while Voth (18), and Miller (12) would round out the team in double figures. Three other Bluejays would score: Crane (6), Hemmert (5), and
Kenyon Holcombe (3), while
Leon Srisamutr would provide valuable minutes and pull in four rebounds and make several heads-up plays.
"Really, really proud of our group tonight!", said Head Coach
Matt Warren. "They gave a really intentional effort on the defensive end. Sterling scored 92 points against us the first time so to hold them to 59 is a testament to our team. They executed the plan and stuck with it all night long. We did a great job of sharing the ball and playing with poise. This group has been tested and challenged so I'm proud of their growth. I don't typically shout out an individual but I am so proud of
Leon Srisamutr. He has continued to stay ready and he gave us great minutes tonight! We will enjoy this tonight and then turn our attention to our tallest task of the season: at No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan. They are playing at an elite level so we have to have great focus and effort in practice to prepare for what they do."
The Bluejay men will hit the road and head south to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to face the No. 4 team in the country in Oklahoma Wesleyan University. The Eagles are coming off a thrilling win over No. 9 Southwestern College and the Bluejays will be looking to even the series against Oklahoma Wesleyan after dropping an 11-point decision at home back in December.
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).