Taylor drops 33, Dutch men roll to basketball victory
Central College
PELLA — For the fourth time this season, Colby Taylor (junior, Creston) scored 30 or more points in a game as the Central College men’s basketball team outpaced Luther College in a 84-71 win Wednesday night.
Taylor’s big night also featured 12 rebounds and four assists to aid the Dutch (14-6, 5-4 conf.) to victory.
“Colby had a great night,” coach Craig Douma said. “He shot the ball really well. The team did a really nice job of finding him. He had a great mix of inside and outside shooting.”
Central took a 10-point lead into halftime, but Douma said he challenged the team at halftime and the Dutch burst out of the gates after half. Central opened up an 18-point lead at the 10:29 mark in the second half, its largest lead of the game.
“We really thought the first 10 minutes of the second half would be crucial,” Douma said. “I thought we executed well during that time and made our shots.”
Luther did not lay down, instead the Norse (4-16, 3-6 conf.) chipped away at the Dutch lead, bringing it to a six-point margin with 2:18 to play.
“Luther didn’t go away,” Douma said. “They stepped up and hit some shots.”
Central outrebounded Luther 42-34, but Douma specifically credited offensive rebounding in the game’s waning minutes as crucial in clinching the win.
“I thought we had some big offensive rebounds down the stretch,” he said. “Pete Walker (junior, Red Oak) came up with a big board and Colby rebounded his own miss late.”
Central attempted 24 free throw shots and made 21, compared to Luther’s 7-of- effort. Taylor was 7-of-7 from the line while guard Trashawn Boyd (sophomore, Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS) was 6-of-7.
“We got to the foul line and we made the shots once we got there,” Douma said. “That was probably the overall difference in the game.”
Central will attempt to avenge its most recent loss Saturday at Simpson. The Dutch blew a 12-point second half lead last Wednesday against the Storm in a 86-78 loss. Douma said the key for this game will be for the Dutch to look within.
“It’s one game at a time right now,” he said. “We can’t worry about what everybody else is doing, we’ve got to worry about us. That’s the biggest key for us.”
