Dutch men’s basketball winning streak halts at two
Central Dutch Athletics
WAVERLY — After winning back-to-back games in Las Vegas, the Central College men’s basketball team dropped an Iowa Conference contest to D3Hoops.com No. 18 Wartburg College 80-65 Wednesday night.
Central (5-8 overall, 2-2 conference) fell behind 9-0 to start the game before sophomore forward Seth Wood (Branson, Mo.) drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six. The Dutch cut the lead to just four, five minutes into the game, however never overcame the deficit.
“I thought we played like we practiced the last two days, which was very sluggish,” said coach Craig Douma. “Our effort wasn’t there tonight and I thought it was obvious that Wartburg was the better team tonight.”
Wood led Central with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals.
“Seth shot the ball well tonight,” said Douma. “I think he’s starting to settle into his role now and plays with confidence.”
Senior forward Malik Wildermuth (Normal, Ill., University HS) was the only other Dutch player in double figures with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Dutch battled foul trouble throughout the game with senior guard Kyle Smith (Grand River, New Hampton HS) and freshman forward Caden Mauck (Lee’s Summit, Mo., Blue Springs South HS) fouling out in the second half.
“I think we need to get back to the fundamentals on defense,” said Douma. “We didn’t do a good job of playing position defense and we were in foul trouble because of it.”
Central had 20 turnovers and lost the rebound battle 41-33.
“We got beat on the boards tonight and I thought some of our younger guys turned it over too much,” said Douma.
The Dutch continue league play Saturday with a women’s-men’s doubleheader in Storm Lake against Buena Vista University. Buena Vista knocked off defending league champion Nebraska Wesleyan 91-71 in Lincoln, Neb. Wednesday night.
“If Buena Vista beating Nebraska Wesleyan doesn’t wake our guys up and have them ready to play Saturday, we’ll be in for a battle,” said Douma. “We’re going to learn a lot about our team this week.”
