A fourteen-point first half lead completely evaporated in the second half for the Central College men’s basketball team, as the Dutch were defeated 81-68 by Buena Vista University on Saturday in Storm Lake.  

The Dutch converted on 50 percent of their shots from the floor in the first half and took a 40-34 lead into the locker room, but the Beavers stormed back in the second half to outscore Central 47-28 to close out the game.  

Central’s Jack Bruns led all scorers with 17 points and also pulled down 6 rebounds, while teammate Demarco Turner tallied 16 points.  

Buena Vista had five players reach double figures, led by 15 points from Andy Puhrman, who came off the bench to knock down five 3-pointers on six attempts.  

The Dutch had already clinched a berth in the Iowa Conference tournament, but with the loss to Buena Vista and a win by Dubuque over Coe, the Central men slid all the way to the sixth seed in next week’s Iowa Conference tournament.  

The Dutch are now 12-12 overall and finish the regular season with an 8-8 mark in league play.