Women’s basketball falls to Tabor, men complete season sweep of Bluejays
Women’s basketball falls to Tabor, men complete season sweep of Bluejays
Both teams will be back in action at York on Saturday.
On Wednesday, both Bethel basketball teams took on their rivals in the Tabor Bluejays in Thresher Gym. The women fell in the contest, 65-48, while the men took the 76-57 win to clinch a season sweep of the Bluejays.
Thresher women struggle in second half
In the opening quarter of the women’s game, both teams struggled to shoot the ball, tallying a combined 0-for-8 from the field. Eventually, Tabor would pull away with a four-point lead at the end of ten minutes, leading 14-10.
To start the second quarter, the Threshers would cut the deficit to two, only for the Bluejays to pull away again, this time to as much as 13. At the intermission, Bethel would find themselves in a double-digit hole, trailing 31-20.
In the third quarter, Tabor continued to steadily build its lead up to as much as 21 points with the Threshers unable to ever recover, eventually losing the contest by 65-48 score.
Jasmine Peete led Bethel in two categories with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Two other Threshers scored in double digits: Caryn Yoder with 11 and Brianna Clark with 10.
The Thresher women will be back in action on Saturday as they take on the York Panthers in Nebraska. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Thresher men use big second-half run to put rivals away
The Bethel men had a strong first half — followed by a monstrous start to the second half — to cruise by the Bluejays in the end, 76-57.
The Threshers started out the first quarter quickly building their lead. They made six of their first nine shots, leading Tabor 14-4. Within the first ten minutes, they would extend that lead to 18-8.
Bethel then went on a 14-6 run at the end of the first half to extend its advantage to 39-24 at the break. Clifford Byrd II led the way for the Threshers in the half with 11 points with Bryant Mocaby close behind with 10 points.
Throughout a six-and-a-half-minute run in the second half, Bethel outscored Tabor 18-0, giving the Threshers little to worry about with a 59-31 lead.
Christion Whitaker would bang two free throws to give the Threshers a decisive 30-point lead with five minutes left to play. Bethel head coach Jayson Artaz then emptied the bench to chants of “We Want Tanner” filling Thresher Gym. Senior Tanner Wallace checked into the game soon after.
Tabor would leave its starters in the game and cut the Thresher lead by 11 with Bethel still in control, 76-57, as the Threshers eventually sealed the season sweep of their rivals.
“Sweeping Tabor is always important to us because we know how much it means to all of our alumni,” Artaz said. “We talked about it meaning a lot to them and that we don't play for us, but for everyone that’s associated with Bethel — past and present.
“It felt great to be able to beat them twice in fairly convincing fashion either time. Our guys came out with great energy in both games and played well which is what we are wanting each time we step on the floor.”
Harper Jonas led the way in scoring with 14 points. Byrd II and Mocaby finished with 13 apiece. Mocaby led Bethel in rebounds with eight, Byrd II in steals with four.
The men will take on the York Panthers on Saturday in Nebraska with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
“We try not to have expectations and think too much about the tournament yet because we have three games left, but we do still have areas that we can improve in,” Artaz said. “We need to work on scoring the ball consistently as well as continuing to guard the three point line defensively.
“If we can shore up a few of those things, I really like how we’ll be playing heading into the last few games and postseason.”