Central men’s basketball team suffers road conference defeat
CEDAR RAPIDS- After a slow start from the Central College men’s basketball team, Coe College cruised to an 88-74 victory.
The Kohawks (8-5, 2-2 American Rivers) got out to a 45-29 lead at halftime by outshooting Central (7-6, 2-2 American Rivers) 51.5% to 44.4%. In the second half the Dutch out scored Coe 45-43.
“I thought our offense was good in the second half,” said coach Joe Steinkamp. “We shot well and had good balance.”
Owen Schipper (freshman, Waukee) led the squad with 21 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and 5-6 from behind the three-point line. He also added seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
“Schipper had a great all-around game,” Steinkamp said. “He can do a little bit of everything, and he showed it today.”
The Dutch welcomed back center Joshua Van Gorp (5th-year, Pella, Pella Christian HS) from an injury. He had 16 points and seven rebounds.
“It was great to have him back,” said Steinkamp. “He showed a lot of toughness tonight playing through a pretty bad ankle injury.”
Bradley Curren (sophomore, Harlan) scored 15 points and added two offensive rebounds, one assist and one steal. Kaleb Brand (5th-year, Mount Vernon) scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting while also dishing out three assists.
As a team the Dutch shot 48.5% from the field, and 43.8% from three. They outscored Coe 40-26 in the paint, but Coe dominated at the free throw line going 23-27 compared to Central’s 3-11.
The team will look to rebound when it hosts Loras College Saturday at 4 p.m. on the P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.
