The Central basketball teams hosted their home finale Wednesday evening, as Luther visited Kuyper Gymnasium for an American Rivers Conference tilt. In the women’s game, the Dutch, hoping to cling to the sixth spot in the standings, pulled off what may be the upset of the season in the American Rivers Conference, a 58-56 triumph over the Norse.

Luther raced out to a 17-13 lead after one quarter of action, and the Norse increased the lead to as many as 13 in the second quarter. But Central used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to go from down five to up six in a span of seven minutes. After the Dutch missed four free throws in the final 30 seconds, Luther had a chance to tie or win on the final possession. But a baseline floater was missed, and the Central bench swarmed the floor in celebration. Head Coach Joe Steinkamp says he’s proud of his team’s perseverance and will to keep competing late in the season.

Kendall Brown had a bounce-back performance, leading the Dutch with 20 points. Carson Fisk was all over the court, knocking in 12 points. Central improves to 13-10 overall, 5-9 in the conference.

The Central men could not hold onto a first half lead, dropping a 79-72 decision. With 11:25 to play in the second half, the Dutch held a 52-49 lead. That’s when Luther went on an 11-2 run, and kept the lead the rest of the way. Luther made free throws down the stretch to seal their second road win of the season.

Adam Flinn scored 21 points to lead the way, while Sean Kostyk tacked on 16. The Dutch fall to 5-18 overall and 2-12 in the conference.

Up next for Central is a trip to Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday. Pregame coverage begins at 1:45 on the KRLS2 stream.