Central men’s 3’s rock Bethany Lutheran
Central College
PELLA—Central College unleashed a 3-point barrage, hitting 15 shots from long range to overwhelm Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) 86-56 in the men’s basketball home opener Tuesday night.
The Dutch, improving to 2-1, nailed back-to-back 3-pointers at the 16-minute mark in the first half to spark an 18-4 run and jump to a 24-7 lead. Bethany Lutheran (0-4) cut the margin to 14 but the Dutch carried a 47-24 advantage into intermission and kept the Vikings out of reach the rest of the game.
Senior guard Demarco Turner (Des Moines, East HS) finished with a season-high 23 points, draining six shots from behind the arc. He also had six rebounds.
“It’s nice to get Demarco going,” coach Mike Boschee said. “We need that from a senior and he’s struggled the last couple games.”
Junior guard Nick Marinkovich (Clarendon Hills, Ill., Hinsdale Central HS) had a career-best 13 points and junior guard Jacob Winkler (Lancaster, Mo., Schuyler R-1 HS) had 11 points. Senior guard Brock Caves (Douds, Van Buren HS) chipped in nine points and dished a career-high six assists.
“Brock was outstanding at controlling the game and making great decisions,” Boschee said. “Six assists and zero turnovers is something we desperately need from him on a consistent basis. He may not have scored a ton of points but in my mind he was almost the MVP of the game.”
On the glass, senior forward Jack Bruns (Story City, Roland-Story HS) had a game-high eight rebounds and junior guard KJ Cool (Chillicothe, Mo., Newtown Harris R-3 HS) had a career-best seven. Central held a 41-24 rebounding advantage over the Vikings.
“It’s nice to have Jack get eight rebounds,” Boschee said. “We need him to have a mindset to get as many rebounds as he can and to clear defensive rebounds. I thought he did that well tonight.”
Offensively the Dutch shot 53 percent from the floor and 44 percent from long range. Eleven players contributed to the point total and seven players made a 3-pointer, one short of the school-record eight.
“When you share the ball and find the open player on a consistent basis you’ll more than likely make the shots because all of your shots are in rhythm,” Boschee said. “We did a very good job of coming together.”
Central continues its three-game homestand Saturday, facing Eureka (Ill.) College at 3 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Red Devils are 1-1 going into Wednesday’s game against Eastern Illinois. It’s the first meeting between the two teams.
