HILLSBORO, Kan. – Winter weather created a delay of the inevitable second meeting of the season between the Bluejay man and Bethany College, pushing the games previously scheduled for Wednesday a day later to Thursday. The switch might have thrown some teams off, but if the Bluejays were rattled at all, it certainly didn't show.
 
After starting out down 0-4, Tabor quickly built up a leading, finding themselves ahead by nine points at the 11:21 mark, 20-11. Eight of the first 20 Bluejay points came courtesy of James Shoenfelt, who came out of the gate on fire, sinking two treys and a mid-range jumper. Bethany's Emmanuel Akpan cut the lead to one less than three minutes later with two made free throws, which led to the Swedes going on their first big run of the game. 
 
Bethany continued to build their lead as the first half drew to a close, going up by as many as 14. Shoenfelt cut the Bluejays' deficit to 11 with a three right before the half. As the first-half buzzer sounded, TC made their way to the locker room finding themselves trailing by a score of 51-40.
 
As the second half began, it seemed like it could be a rerun of the final minutes of the first half, as Bethany continued to hold a somewhat sizeable lead and while Tabor continued to chip away at the deficit, they couldn't seem to make a significant dent. That all changed as Kalep Crane sank a jumper at the 16:36 mark to bring the Bluejays back within eight.
 
The score continued to fluctuate until the tide started to turn as Shoenfelt buried a three at the 5:20 mark, leading the way for Tabor to cut their deficit down to one multiple times. 
 
Things really got exciting as the clock ticked into the final two minutes of regulation. Crane tied the game up at 90 on an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:50 on the clock. Bethany took the lead and pushed it out to four with 26 seconds remaining before Crane cut it back down to two. After a made Swede free-throw, the Bluejays took possession again with 18 seconds left in the contest. Crane let one go from beyond the arc, looking to tie things up, but missed the mark, causing both squads to scramble to gain possession. The ball went out of bounds off the Swedes with three seconds on the clock. Kam Kaniper took the final shot from behind the arc and drew the foul with 1.2 seconds to go. With the game on the line, Kaniper stepped up in a huge way, sinking all three crucial free throws to send the game into overtime.
 
The Swedes took a brief two-point lead at the beginning of the overtime period, but that lead would wind up being their final lead of the contest as it was all Bluejays for the remainder. The Bluejays soared to a thrilling victory in overtime, 110-106.
 
Kalep Crane had the night of his life, exploding for a career-high 46 points while bringing in six rebounds and two steals and dishing out four assists. In addition to Crane, four other Bluejays reached double figures in the win: James Shoenfelt (20), Jackson Baer (13), Creighton Kukula (13), and Kam Kaniper. Shoenfelt led the team on the glass, bringing in nine boards. 
 
The Bluejays return to action inside Tabor College Gymnasium one final time for the 2024-25 season on Saturday as they play host to the University of Saint Mary. Tip-ff is scheduled for 7pm.
 
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).