Thresher men's basketball celebrates senior night; later clinches four seed in KCAC tournament
Bethel celebrated eight seniors before dominating Tabor on Wednesday, then dominated York on Saturday to solidify a home playoff game this week.
The Bethel College men’s basketball team put on a show for Senior Night, securing a commanding 91-81 win over Tabor College on Wednesday night at Thresher Gym. They then played York on Saturday to clinch their four seed in the KCAC Tournament as the playoff bracket was set.
Before the game, Bethel honored its eight seniors—Eli Wiseman, Harper Jonas, Nick Bonner, Carter Reid, Ekene Duru, Joshua Hoar, Lorenzo Monopoli, and Lucas Stewart—who have played key roles in the Threshers’ success. Head Coach Jayson Artaz reflected on the group’s impact, summing it up with one word: “uplifting.”
“Our seniors have been great at incorporating a positive impact on all the players in our program and have been very welcoming to our new guys this year,” Artaz said.
Bethel wasted no time setting the tone against Tabor, jumping out to a 38-24 halftime lead behind a flurry of three-pointers from Harper Jonas, who finished with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from deep. The Threshers continued to roll in the second half, with Nick Bonner leading the way offensively, pouring in a game-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Carmelo Yakubu controlled the paint, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Despite a late push from Tabor, Bethel’s depth and ball movement proved too much, as the Threshers dished out 23 assists on 32 made field goals.
For Bonner, a senior from Derby, the night was special, but he knows there’s still more to play for.
“Senior Night was fun. It hasn’t settled in for me yet because we’re still going to host a playoff game, but I’ll always cherish the moments I had in there with playoff games, regular-season games, and so many practices,” Bonner said. “If I had to describe the last five years in one word, it’d be ‘growth.’ My first couple years here, I was just learning what it meant to be a college student and athlete, figuring out how to grow up.
These last couple years, it’s been more about growing other guys and trying to push everyone around me to be better every day. Everyone is eventually going to grow from whatever stage of life they’re in, and yeah, life is tough, and being at Bethel doesn’t help much either, but the people you’re surrounded with can help you through that process. I’m glad to say the people at Bethel—my teammates, coaches, trainers, staff—have all given me the chance to grow and allowed me to be myself.”
Harper Jonas, a fifth-year senior from Andover, recently broke Bethel’s all-time three-point record. While the moment was a special one, he was quick to credit the people around him.
“Achieving the three-point record was exciting and unexpected,” Jonas said. “What I do know is it took a lot of time and hard work. Couldn’t have done it without the group of guys I have played with over the years.”
After their win against Tabor, Bethel took on York up north in Nebraska and solidified their four seed for the conference tournament with their win.
The Threshers will host their quarterfinal match up for the KCAC Tournament against five seed Ottawa on Wednesday night in Thresher Gym at 7 p.m.