Dutch roll in men’s basketball opener
Central College
PELLA — The Central College men’s basketball team got production from everyone on the squad in an 88-58 win over Webster (Mo.) to open the 2015-16 season Saturday night.
All 14 players on the roster not only played, but scored at least two points in a contest that got out of hand fast. The Dutch had a 37-19 lead at halftime before going on a 15-0 run to open the second half.
Coach Craig Douma was pleased with his team’s effort.
“You never know what to expect the first game out,” he said. “I thought this was a great bounce back from last year’s loss to Webster. Our guys came out focused from the start.”
The Dutch shot 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range.
“We were very unselfish tonight,” Douma said. “I was happy with our patience. We have some shooters on this team and we gave those guys open looks.”
Webster was held to just 36 percent shooting and were forced into 20 turnovers.
“We made a good team get frustrated because of our defensive effort,” Douma said.
Central was on fire from behind the arc in the second half, going 8-for-16.
“We came out and never gave them a chance in the second half,” Douma said. “We never relaxed and took a comeback out of the equation.”
Sophomore guard Trashawn Boyd (Normal, Ill./University HS) was the top Dutch scorer, going for 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field.
“Trashawn came out and had a heck of a game,” Douma said. “He’s explosive and had a hot hand tonight.”
Two other Dutch players scored in double-digits as junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) and sophomore guard Kyle Smith (Ionia/New Hampton HS) both notched 12. Junior forward Ryan Kunkel (Solon) had his name all over the box score, tallying six points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals.
“Ryan had a very good game overall,” Douma said. “He hit the glass hard, scored some for us and even found some guys open looks.”
Central will play Wednesday at 8 p.m. when Iowa Wesleyan makes the trip to Pella.
Douma knows the Tigers won’t be a walkover.
“Iowa Wesleyan had a great season last year and had a great opening weekend this year,” he said. “They’ve got some great players and will come fully prepared. It’s another good non-conference game for us to get better as a team.”
