The Central College men’s basketball team (17-9) saw their American Rivers Conference tourney hopes come to a crushing end in a 77-73 first-round loss Tuesday at the University of Dubuque.

After trailing 35-32 at halftime, Central used a 10-0 run to take a 50-42 lead with 11:39 remaining. Dubuque tied it at 54-54 two minutes later, but the Dutch were still up 61-56 with 7:13 left and were clinging to a 68-67 advantage at the 3:36 mark. Central was then held scoreless until guard Brad Curren hit a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left. That still left Dubuque up 74-71 and the Dutch came no closer.

All-American center Joshua Van Gorp had 27 hard-earned points against a sagging Dubuque defense. It was his 12th game with 25 or more points this season. Van Gorp ends his senior season with 1,357 career points, moving past Kyle Smith (2014-18) for seventh place on the Central charts.

A pair of fifth-year players, forward Grant Johnson and point guard Drew Edwards saw productive careers end. Edwards again filled up his box score line with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Johnson, who endured an injury plagued season, added 13 points, seven boards, four assists, a steal and a block. Guard Kaleb Brand had nine points with five rebounds and three assists.

The Central men’s squad was making its 21st conference tournament appearance.