Central rolls to men’s basketball win
Central College
PELLA — The Central College men’s basketball squad led wire to wire Saturday, taking down Coe in emphatic fashion, 84-63.
The Dutch (13-6, 4-4 Iowa Conference) outscored Coe (7-12, 2-6 conference) 38-28 in the first half and followed that up with a 46-35 advantage in the final period.
“We played 40 minutes of basketball today,” coach Craig Douma said. “We played well on both ends of the floor.”
Central connected on 28-of-60 shots, a 47 percent clip, while the Kohawks shot 34 percent from the floor, going 22-for-64. Both teams shot well from long range, the Dutch knocking down 47 percent and Coe converting 42 percent of their 3-point attempts.
“It all started on defense,” Douma said, “We didn’t slow down in the second half like we have in the past. We stayed after it.”
Central committed just 10 turnovers, leading to seven Kohawk points.
“We did a great job of taking care of the ball,” Douma said.
The Dutch were coming off a three-game skid and Douma knows this was a big win.
“I am so proud of this team and the effort they gave today,” he said. “We have had some adversity lately and tonight was a total team effort. We stepped up and got the job done.”
Douma gave a lot of credit to his assistant coach.
“Coach Steinkamp does a great job with our game plan on both sides of the floor,” he said.
Sophomore guard Trashwan Boyd (Normal, Ill./University HS) had a career-high 20 points, while dishing out six assists.
“Trashawn had his number called tonight and he got it done,” Douma said, “He’s come a long way this year. We fed off him and he made our offense so much better.”
Three other Central players tacked on double-digits, as junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) had 16, junior forward Austin Glawe (Aurelia/Sioux Central HS) racked up 14 and junior guard Tate Handsaker (Nevada) tacked on 12.
“Tate did a great job running the floor tonight,” Douma said. “He finished a lot of transition baskets.”
Junior forward Ryan Kunkel (Solon) was a presence inside, blocking five shots and pulling down five rebounds.
“Ryan was a difference maker with his defense,” Douma said. “He makes us so good on the defense end.”
Junior guard Pete Walker (Red Oak) had a game-high 11 rebounds and added five points and five assists.
“Pete did a great job on the defensive end tonight,” Douma said. “We got a lot of east transition points form his defense.”
Central will host Luther Wednesday at 8 p.m. in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Dutch defeated the Norse 88-74 in Decorah in the Iowa Conference opener Jan. 6. Live stats and video will be available at central.edu/athletics.
“Luther will run a lot of different styles,” Douma said. “We will need to have good movement against their zone and defend the 3-point line. Our guys will be focused.”
