A 36-point eruption from center Joshua Van Gorp (junior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) wasn’t enough to overcome a dismal shooting night for the top-seeded Central College men’s basketball team, dropping an American Rivers Conference tourney semifinal heard live on KNIAKRLS.com to fourth-seeded Loras College 79-67 Thursday. 

Playing before a raucous P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium crowd, Central’s conference champs never led, staggering out of the gate and trailing 20-4 just over 6 minutes into the game. Central (18-7) was down by as many as 18 points in the first half. Central shot an icy 29.6% from the field in the first half and a meager 47.4% from the free throw line.

It was a bruising affair, with 45 fouls called and bodies frequently crashing to the floor. Central’s uphill climb got even steeper in the second half as forward Grant Johnson (senior, Waukee, Van Meter HS) and guards Kaleb and Nolan Brand (juniors, Mount Vernon) all fouled out. The Dutch clawed their way to within 38-29 at halftime and the crowd erupted when Central finally tied it 59-59 on a Van Gorp putback with 4:26 left. But a 5-0 burst put Loras back in command and Central couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way.

The Dutch repeatedly looked to Van Gorp inside, who despite drawing two to three defenders, still muscled his way to an 11-of-19 effort from the field, while hitting 14 of 20 free throws and grabbing 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Van Gorp finished the year shooting 68.0% from the field, which ranks third in Division III.

The setback doesn’t diminish the magnitude of what the Dutch accomplished under first-year head coach Joe Steinkamp. Central was 7-17 a year ago and 4-12 in conference play and more of the same was expected by outsiders prior to the season as league coaches tabbed the Dutch for eighth place. Instead, Central captured its 18th conference championship and recorded 18 wins, the most for the Dutch since the 2013-14 campaign.