The Swedes kept close with Tabor in the first half, and walked into the locker room at halftime down by two. Bethany struggled to grab a lead in the second half, ultimately losing to the Blue Jays 98-91, halting their win streak.

"Tabor shot the ball extremely well," said head coach Clair Oleen. "They shot 50% from the free throw line, 60% from the field, and 85% from three-point range. We haven't had anyone shoot that well against us the whole game."

Senior Rodd Williams scored a game-high 24 points, followed by senior C.J. Littlejohn with 23. Junior Vincent Ferguson and sophomore Clayton Goggins each had 12 points while senior Jason Schneider tacked on 11. Senior Brandon Miller snagged a game-high 12 rebounds as Ferguson grabbed six. Williams totaled five assists as Goggins contributed three. Littlejohn totaled three steals on the night.

"I was disappointed we didn't defend well," Oleen said. "But give credit to them for shooting well. We played well offensively ourselves, and scored 91 points. Usually when you score 91 points, that's enough to win you a ball game."

The Swedes closed out their final regular season home game Saturday evening against rival Kansas Wesleyan University.

In arguably the best crowd energy Hahn Gymnasium has seen this year, the Swedes and Coyotes stayed neck-in-neck in the first half, and went into the locker room at halftime with a tie game. Bethany had a narrow lead down the stretch, but Kansas Wesleyan took the lead with less than 30 seconds to go. Williams drove the lane with the clock ticking down and drew a foul, knocking down both free throws and giving the Swedes a one-point lead with eight seconds remaining. The Coyotes took the ball down court and threw up a desperation shot that fell short as the Swedes grabbed a thrilling 69-68 win.

"It was senior night, which was emotional," said Oleen. "Some of our guys' parents have never been to Bethany before. KWU got off on us; they pushed the ball and penetrated the rim. We got down by nine a few times, but adjusted our defense and went into halftime tied."

Williams scored a game-high 29 points, followed by Ferguson with 17. Littlejohn added 13 points on the night. Ferguson, Miller, and senior Kendall Banning each grabbed seven rebounds. Littlejohn had four assists on the night. Williams totaled two blocked shots while Goggins and freshman Xavier Reynolds each snuck two steals in the contest.

"The biggest thing was the outstanding atmosphere," Oleen said. "The Bethany/Kansas Wesleyan rivalry hasn't gone south. I am so happy for our students; it was a tremendous time and a great night at Bethany College. Bethany students have a lot of pride, and a lot of pride in our guys. This is the kind of thing Bethany College needs. It is good student fun, it helps retention, and it helps recruiting as there were a lot of recruits there. It was just a great college basketball atmosphere."

Bethany is now 10-6 in the KCAC, in third place, and 14-12 overall. The Swedes head into their final week of conference play as they travel to Southwestern College on Thursday, February 18 and the University of St. Mary on Saturday, February 20. Games are scheduled for 8 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.