Central men’s basketball team scores comeback victory
Central College
DAVENPORT — The Central College men’s basketball team trailed by double digits in the first half, but came back to take the lead in the second half and held on late in an 86-84 win at St. Ambrose Friday.
The Dutch (6-1) led the Bees (8-3) by just one with 19 seconds left before forward Colby Taylor (sophomore, Creston) knocked down two free throws. Trailing 85-82, the Bees came down, drew a foul and hit two free throws to get back within one. Taylor was fouled again for the Dutch and hit one of two at the line with seven seconds left to put Central up 86-84. St. Ambrose missed a 3-pointer and a jump shot on its final possession and Central earned the two-point victory.
“Overall this was really good for us,” said coach Craig Douma. “To get a win in a tight game on the road, it is a good confidence builder for our guys.”
Taylor had another strong game for the Dutch, falling just two assists shy of a triple-double. The sophomore forward was 6-for-8 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, scoring 21 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out eight assists for Central.
“Colby Taylor played some big minutes for us,” said Douma. “He made some really nice passes tonight.”
Forward Kyle Newendorp (senior, Pella) also posted a double-double for the Dutch, finishing with 20 points and 10 boards.
“Overall Kyle did some great things tonight,” said Douma. “He finished around the basket and made some big shots for us down the stretch. We challenged him at halftime to get more defensive boards for us and he came up big in the second half.”
Guard Nile Eckermann (senior, Cosgrove, Clear Creek Amana HS) was also in double figures, hitting four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points in 37 minutes on the floor.
The Bees built a lead in the first half by scoring in transition. They led by as many as 12 with 3:16 to go before Central made a run. The Dutch hit four 3’s, two by guard Nate Munn (sophomore, Ames), in just over a minute and a half to cut the deficit to two before going into the half down 40-36.
“After Colby hit a three, Nate hit back-to-back 3’s, and then made the assist pass to Nile on a 3-pointer,” said Douma. “So we hit four 3’s in a row to really get us back in the ballgame right before half and I thought that was really crucial.”
The Dutch have a quick turnaround, playing their second game of the St. Ambrose Shootout tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Mt. Mercy (10-3) in Davenport.
