Central Basketball Teams Fall in ARC Doubleheader at Loras

Making the trip to Dubuque Saturday afternoon, the Central College basketball teams were swept in an American Rivers Conference doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS at Loras College.

The nationally ranked Loras women’s basketball team bolted to an early lead and handed the Dutch a 78-62 defeat. The Duhawks are ranked No. 24 in the WBCA Division III coaches poll and No. 15 by D3hoops.com. Loras was up 18-7 after one quarter as the Dutch hit just 2-of-16 shots before regaining its footing. Central (7-7 overall, 1-4 conference) got 14 points apiece from guard Abby Johnson and center Allison Van Gorp and 11 from point guard Emily Naughton, who also passed out three assists and had three steals. The Dutch outrebounded Loras 39-33 but were outshot 50.0% to 33.9% and committed 22 turnovers.

It was a painfully familiar finish for the Central men’s team as a late lead slipped away in the final seconds at Loras in a 68-67 defeat. The Duhawks scored on an inbounds lob with 3 seconds remaining for its only lead of the second half and the victory. Central (9-5 overall, 3-2 conference) suffered its only other conference loss to Coe College on a similar play in an 85-83 overtime loss on December 9th. Center Joshua Van Gorp posted his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while guard Will Henricksen scored 17 points off the bench. The Dutch overcame a 25-15 deficit midway through the first half, using a 13-0 run to grab a 28-25 lead. Central was up at the half 34-30 and led by as much as 56-44 with 7:32 remaining, but it wasn’t enough as they fell. Central outshot Loras 45.8% to 39.7% from the floor and held a 43-30 rebounding advantage, but committed 17 turnovers.

Central returns home Wednesday for a women’s-men’s conference doubleheader with Nebraska Wesleyan University. The women’s game is slated to start at 5:30 pm, with the men’s game to follow at approximately 7:30 pm.

Dutch Men Return to Wrestling Action with a Vengeance

In its first action of 2024, 19 members of the Central College wrestling team earned top-six place finishes at the Central Under Armour Invitational Saturday.

Saturday’s tournament featured 218 wrestlers from 13 different schools across NCAA Division II, III and NAIA schools and featured a gold and silver division for each weight class. Sophomore Pierre Baldwin rattled off three straight wins against Wartburg College wrestlers, finishing with a fall in the Gold 141-pound championship match to secure his fourth tournament title of the year. Gage Linahon won all three of his Gold 197-pound matches, including a 9-5 thriller over Shane Gibson of Minnesota State in the final. Three other Dutch wrestlers made the finals of the gold brackets in David Vukobratovich, Brock Beck, and Sam West. Cael Cox, Colby Tool, Jason Hermann, Austin Roos and Landon Kirby all placed fourth in gold brackets after reaching the third-place match. In the silver brackets, Central crowned a pair of champions in Kale Downey at 165 pounds and Kyler Hall at 285 pounds.

The Dutch men travel to Dubuque on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. dual with Loras College.