Five days after absorbing a 97-67 home-court defeat by Buena Vista University, the Central College men’s basketball team had to travel to Storm Lake for an American Rivers tourney semifinal rematch Thursday. The result was ultimately the same, but the performance was a season-ending effort to remember.

Trailing by 19 points midway through the second half, the Dutch, who were coming off a surprising first-round 97-95 overtime triumph at Loras College Tuesday, found enough gas in the tank for a closing kick, surging to within five points with 2 minutes remaining before dropping an 81-76 decision. That sends Buena Vista into Saturday’s championship game at the University of Dubuque. Meanwhile Central, which endured two health-related shutdowns and the loss of two starters to injury, closed at 3-4 but with a top-four league finish in a bizarre yet subtly rewarding year.

Guard Adam Flinn put the wraps on a brilliant career with a dominant night, scoring 25 points with five rebounds and three assists. That gave him 1,032 points for his career, good for 25th place on Central’s all-time list. Central got 18 points and five boards from sophomore Sam Beatty. Another senior, forward Caden Mauck narrowly missed notching his 15th career double-double with eight points and 10. Emblematic of Central’s effort, however, were the rebounding numbers. Buena Vista held a 12-rebound advantage Saturday, but the Dutch had a 38-30 edge on the glass Thursday. But Central was outshot from the field, 49.2% to 47.5%, and committed a costly 19 turnovers.

Flinn and Mauck are the team’s only seniors but are key cogs in the program.