The Sabetha Bluejays put on a show Monday night, Feb. 10, shaking off an early punch and rolling past the Jeff West Tigers 60-43 in a game that turned into a full-on team flex.

Jeff West came out firing, jumping to a quick 6-0 lead and testing Sabetha’s composure early. No panic, though. Senior Cole Menold got the Bluejays on the board with ice in his veins, knocking down a corner three off an inbounds play. On the very next trip, junior big man Jack Frazee went to work on the block for a smooth finish. Menold wasn’t done — he hit the gas, drove baseline for a bucket, then dished a clean inside feed to Frazee for another score. Momentum officially shifted.

Junior Micah Lang soon joined the party, slicing up the defense and dropping a nifty no-look pass to sophomore Kyson Wertenberger for a layup. Wertenberger followed that up by stepping into a confident triple from deep. After a fast, physical opening quarter, Sabetha clung to a slim 14-13 lead heading into the second.

The second quarter opened with pure hustle. Menold and senior Reid Mitchell outworked everyone on a two-on-one fast break to spark the crowd. Jeff West answered with a 7-0 run behind their size, but Mitchell shut that down by “weight-rooming” his way to a strong bucket that reignited the Bluejays.

From there, Lang found his groove. He calmly went two-for-two at the free-throw line, buried a three on the next possession, then went old-school in the paint with a filthy shot-fake post move that froze all five Tigers for an easy two. That run gave Sabetha a 27-22 halftime lead and full control of the vibe.

“We knew we could clean up our passing and take better care of the ball,” senior Jacoby Jackman said. “If we stay positive, keep pushing each other, and play together, we knew we could come back out and dominate.”

Dominate they did.

Coming out of the locker room, Sabetha flipped the switch. Senior Charlie Lukert and Frazee ran a picture-perfect pick-and-roll for a bucket, followed by another strong finish from Frazee around the rim. Lang kept cooking with a fadeaway jumper, an offensive rebound and put-back, and another crafty post score.

Menold turned into a full-time facilitator, threading the needle all night. Highlights included a laser pass to Lang that sliced through the entire Jeff West defense and a clean post entry to junior Holden Edelman for 2 points. The Bluejays owned the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 20-7 and stretching the lead to 47-29 heading into the final frame.

The fourth quarter was all about finishing the right way — unselfish, connected and confident. Frazee found junior Jayton Meyer for a bucket, Mitchell hit Lang on a slick backdoor cut, and senior Ryder Smith delivered a nice feed to Frazee for another score. Every possession felt like five guys on the same page.

Sabetha slammed the door with style and walked away with a convincing 60-43 win.

Lang led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Frazee added 12 points, Menold chipped in 8 points and six assists, and Wertenberger posted a strong all-around night with 7 points and seven rebounds.

“We’re going to keep working hard in practice and keep our confidence up as we head toward the end of the season,” Jackman said. “This was a good team win against a team that was ahead of us in our regional.”