Dutch clean the glass for men’s basketball conference win
PELLA—Dominance on the glass allowed the Central College men’s basketball team to open its American Rivers title defense with an 80-76 victory over Simpson College Tuesday.
The Dutch outboarded Simpson 53-28. All-American center Joshua Van Gorp (senior, Pella) posted his third double-double of the young season with 19 points and 10 rebounds despite a Simpson defense that packed the paint. Forward Kole Tupa (senior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) also scored 19 and grabbed eight boards while forward Grant Johnson (5th-year, Waukee, Van Meter HS) recorded another near triple-double with eight points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Guards Drew Edwards (5th-year, Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Kaleb Brand (senior, Mount Vernon) each scored 11. Ewards also had seven rebounds and three assists.
Their efforts helped cover up for some uncharacteristic shooting struggles from long range. The Dutch (5-0 overall, 1-0 American Rivers) were just 5 of 22 (22.7%) from 3-point range in the second half and 9-of-32 for the game. But Central outshot Simpson from the field, 43.8% to 43.1%.
“It doesn’t look as good when some open shots aren’t going in,” coach Joe Steinkamp said. “But we didn’t make many turnovers and we actually scored more in the second half than in the first half.”
Central had a 39-28 halftime lead but Simpson (2-3 overall, 0-1 conference) pulled even at 50-50 with 11:37 left and hung around down the stretch, tying the game again 62-62 at the 6:33 mark. Brand was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 36 seconds to secure the win.
“Simpson is a really good team,” Steinkamp said. “They have a lot of really good offensive players and they really got it cooking in the second half.
“But I thought Kole Tupa had his best game of the season. He scored in a lot of different ways, as a cutter, as an offensive rebounder and as a shooter. He played good defense as well. Grant (Johnson) and Josh (Van Gorp) obviously had another big game and Drew (Edwards) played well.”
Steinkamp liked the way the Dutch maintained their composure when shots weren’t falling.
“It was a really physical, emotional game and I thought our guys just stepped up, made the free throws and got the stops when we needed to,” he said. “It was really nice to see our bench come through there. Will Henricksen (junior, Cedar Rapids, Marion HS) made six straight points and Brad Curren (freshman, Harlan) hit a three. It’s great to get those extra contributions.”
Central travels to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday for a 5 p.m. non-conference game. The teams have split a pair of games in their series and haven’t met since 2018. The Pioneers are 3-1 and were among those schools receiving votes in the D3hoops.com preseason top-25 poll.
“They have a great team,” Steinkamp said. “They’re really well-coached, really physical and have some good players. We’re excited to go up there and challenge ourselves against one of the better teams in the country from one of the best leagues in the country.”
