Central topples Wartburg to assure home men’s hoops tourney game
Central College
PELLA —Overcoming a difficult shooting day, Central College secured a home game in next week’s Iowa Conference men’s basketball tournament with a 68-56 victory over Wartburg College Saturday.
The Dutch (15-10 overall, 8-6 conference) earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will host Wartburg (13-12, 6-8) for the second time in four days Tuesday at 7 p.m.
While 3-point shooting has been a key in a number of Dutch wins this season, the team struggled from beyond the arc Saturday going 3-for-27 (11.1 percent) for the game, including 0-for-9 in the second half. Central leaned on its defense, which held Wartburg to a similar shooting performance. The Knights were just 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) on threes in the game and 20-for-66 from the field (30.3 percent).
“We showed some resiliency,” said coach Craig Douma. “In the middle of the conference season if we would have had a game like this our heads would have gone down and we wouldn’t have played as well defensively. We found a way and persevered through a tough shooting night. We showed some toughness.”
Saturday was Senior Day for the Dutch as six seniors were honored before the game. Forward Kyle Newendorp (senior, Pella) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also had one block to move give him 38 for the season, tying Scott Huisman for seventh on Central’s single season list.
“Kyle Newendorp was very active, especially early in the game,” said Douma. “Guys did a good job of finding him.”
Other seniors that were honored included guard Nile Eckermann (Cosgrove, Clear Creek Amana HS), forward Jayson Shepherd (Jewel, South Hamilton HS), forward Michael Iseman (Archie, Mo.), guard Aaron Rosenstiel (Oelwein), and student-coach Drew Moore (Blue Springs, Mo.). Eckermann finished with 12 points and three boards, Shepherd had six points and four boards and Iseman added a point and a rebound.
“It’s a great way to send our seniors off tonight,” said Douma. “I love our seniors. They are all just great examples of young men. I can’t ask for better individuals to lead this team.”
Newendorp wasn’t the only Dutch player with a double-double as forward Colby Taylor (sophomore, Creston) recorded his ninth of the season with an 11-point, 12-rebound performance.
“We did a good job of finding Colby down on the low block,” said Douma.
Central played well out of the gate, racing out to a 27-13 lead in the first 15 minutes.
“We rebounded the ball well, but the key was our transition game,” said Douma. “We did a great job of finding the open man in transition. We put a lot of pressure on their defense.”
Wartburg then went on an 11-2 run to pull within 29-23 before guard Austin Hauser (junior, Marshalltown) drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with six seconds left in the first half. The Dutch then took a 32-23 lead into the locker room.
“That was a big shot by Austin,” said Douma. “We didn’t panic and Nile just found the open man. We had great point guard play tonight between Hauser and Trashawn Boyd (freshman, Normal, Ill., University HS). We took care of the ball.”
The Dutch led by as many as 17 in the second half before Wartburg hit a few shots late to bring the final score to 68-56. Douma said a key in the second half was crashing the boards on missed shots by Wartburg.
“We came back and won the rebounding battle,” said Douma. “We got some offensive rebounds in the second half and we limited their offensive rebounds.”
Central will begin postseason play Tuesday in the conference tournament first round by hosting Wartburg for the third time this season at 7 p.m. The Dutch are 2-0 against the Knights this season.
“It’s always hard to beat a team for the third time in a season,” said Douma. “But the scouting reports are easy and we know what their personnel can do.”
