Strong First Half Carries Central to Men’s Basketball Win, Upset Bid Falls Short for Dutch Women
The Central men’s basketball team erupted for 50 first-half points and cruised to an 83-60 victory over Wartburg Saturday, while the Dutch women’s squad’s upset bid against the 11th ranked Knights fell short in a 64-54 loss, and both games were heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
Firing a torrid 61.5% from the floor in the first half, the Dutch men (12-6 overall, 6-3 American Rivers) dashed to a 50-36 lead at the break and were up by as many as 25 points in the second half. Freshman guard Brad Curren hit all five of his first-half 3-point tries and finished with 16 points and four assists. The Dutch shot 13-of-29 from 3-point range for the game. Kaleb Brand had a team-high 18 points while center Joshua Van Gorp had 16 points and six rebounds.
The Central women (9-9 overall, 3-6 American Rivers) led by as many as 11 points in the first half as an aggressive defense carried the Dutch to a 17-8 lead after one quarter. Central stretched the margin to 29-18 with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter, but Wartburg closed the half with an 11-0 flurry to make it 29-29 at the break. The Knights tacked on the first four points of the second half before Central steadied the ship. Another lapse was costly, as Wartburg turned a 39-38 advantage to 51-38 early in the fourth quarter and the Dutch got no closer than four the rest of the way. Central got big contributions off the bench, as center CeCe Moore had 13 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots and guard Jasmyn Williams added 12 points, three assists, and two steals.
The Central basketball teams are at Indianola Wednesday for a women’s-men’s doubleheader with Simpson College and the games can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA.
Central Men’s Wrestlers Take Down No. 17 Dubuque
Scoring a decisive win over a ranked foe, the 16th-ranked Central College men’s wrestling team posted a 2-1 mark at the American Rivers Conference Duals Saturday.
Central (10-3 overall, 3-3 American Rivers) blitzed Buena Vista University 44-6, then took down the No. 17 University of Dubuque 27-15 before getting overwhelmed by No. 1 Wartburg College 48-0. Pierre Baldwin had a 2-0 day and helped Central score match-swinging back-to-back falls against Dubuque. The Dutch were without starting 133-pounder Brock Beck due to injury, so David Vukobratovich jumped up from 125 pounds and scored a fall over Jesus Sanchez in 1:05. Baldwin followed with his fall over Darian Diaz in 4:17. Colby Tool, Jason Hermann, and Sam West notched falls at 157, 165 and 184 pounds, respectively, against Buena Vista as the Dutch won nine of 10 matches.
The Dutch are off until January 30th when they travel to Oskaloosa for a 7 p.m. dual at William Penn University.
Central Crowns Two Women’s Wrestling Champions at Conference Invitational
Central College crowned a pair of champions in the inaugural American Rivers Conference Women’s Wrestling Invitational Saturday. Six conference teams competed in the meet but no team scores were kept. Competing at 191 pounds, Gwen Canney scored a pair of first-period falls to capture first place. She pinned Emersen Smith of Wartburg College in 56 seconds, then pinned Buena Vista University’s Magalie Mogiga in 1:20. Meanwhile, Asia Young took the 235-pound title with an 8-0 decision over teammate Selena Snell and then a fall over Mia Lopez of Wartburg College in just 44 seconds. Esther Hughes took third place at 143 pounds, going 2-2 and notching a fall. Jenna Hernandez was fifth at 109 pounds, going 1-2. Central heads to East Moline, Illinois for the Quad Cities Division III Invitational February 2nd-3rd.