NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — Bethel honored seven seniors prior to tip-off Saturday night at Thresher Gym: Carmelo Yakubu, Albert Diarra, Brayden Schilling, Christion Whitaker, Jordan Flowers, Donovan Ringenbach, and Jack Denton-Cardew.

The Threshers followed the ceremony with a 61-50 win over York to close the regular season.

Bethel built control early, taking a 32-17 lead into halftime and never trailing. The Threshers shot 35.7 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free throw line while holding York to 39.2 percent shooting. Bethel forced 19 York turnovers and turned those into 15 points. The Threshers also received 30 points from their bench and outrebounded York 37-35.

Carmelo Yakubu led the way with 15 points, nine made free throws, seven rebounds, and four steals. Christion Whitaker added seven points and seven rebounds. Brayden Schilling contributed seven points and six boards. Rustan Griffen scored eight points, including two key second-half threes, while Trenton Patterson and Dominick Harris each added eight and seven points respectively.

Bethel extended its lead to double digits midway through the second half and pushed the margin back to 11 in the final two minutes to seal the win.

With the victory, Bethel finishes the regular season 21-7 overall and 16-6 in conference play. The Threshers tied for third place with McPherson, but McPherson holds the tiebreaker following its overtime win earlier this season. Bethel will enter the KCAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed.

The Threshers will host No. 5 seed Southwestern on Thursday at 7:00 PM in Thresher Gym. The matchup serves as a rubber match between the two teams. Bethel earned an overtime win at Southwestern earlier in the year but fell at home in the second semester meeting.

Postseason play begins Thursday night with a spot in the semifinals on the line.