Second-half surge leads Dutch to men’s basketball victory
Central College
PELLA — In a game slowed by 45 fouls, the Central College men’s basketball squad shot 58 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 72-61 defeat of Loras Saturday.
The Dutch (12-3, 3-1 Iowa Conference) were trailing by one at halftime before outscoring Loras (7-8, 2-2 conference) 47-35 in the final 20 minutes. The win keeps Central atop the league standings.
“It wasn’t the most fun game to watch for the fans,” coach Craig Douma said. “It wasn’t a great offensive effort by either team tonight.”
The first half saw the Dutch shoot 33 percent from the floor and Loras convert on just 24 percent of shots.
“We felt we were stagnant in the first half,” Douma said. “We had terrible movement and guys weren’t taking the shots they needed to.”
The second half was a different story as Central knocked down 18-of-31 attempts and the Duhawks went 12-of-27, a 44 percent clip.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well overall, but the second half was much better,” Douma said. “We pushed the ball up the floor off missed shots and got more transition opportunities.”
Douma knows his team can’t start slow all season.
“We’ve had a tendency to do that this season and it’s an area that definitely needs improvement,” he said. “We have to get back to practice and work on coming out of the gate faster.”
The defense stepped up for Central, holding the Duhawks to just 34 percent shooting over the 40 minutes.
“To get a win at home and not play well offensively shows a lot about what we’re doing on the defensive end,” Douma said. “I’m proud of the way the guys battled.”
Central had to turn to the bench early after they were called for 14 first-half fouls, including two or more on five different players. Junior forward Ryan Kunkel (Solon) was the lone Dutch player to foul out, but two others finished with four fouls apiece. Kunkel had six points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
“Different guys had to step up tonight and they did in big moments,” Douma said.
Sophomore guard Kyle Smith (Ionia/New Hampton HS) was a bright spot on the offensive end, going for a career-high 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including five makes from behind the arc.
“Kyle is playing really well right now,” Douma said. “He’s hitting shots when we need them and was crucial in that second half.”
Junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) racked up his 19th-career double-double and seventh of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“Colby did a great job on the boards tonight, even at some points out of his area,” Douma said. “Those rebounds stats are important, especially when you’re getting stops so you can have more opportunities to score in transition.”
The Dutch will head to Cedar Rapids Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tilt with Coe. The Kohawks (5-10, 0-4 conference) are the only winless team in the league and are coming off a 63-47 loss to Luther Saturday.
