Johnson double-double lifts Central in men’s basketball home opener
PELLA—Forward Grant Johnson (5th-year, Waukee, Van Meter HS) posted his seventh career double-double and second of the young men’s basketball season as Central College raced past Cornell College 83-55 Wednesday night.
Johnson had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while center Joshua Van Gorp (senior, Pella) overcame a game-long double-team to lead the Dutch (3-0) with 17 points. Guard Kaleb Brand (senior, Mount Vernon) had 16 points and guard Kole Tupa (senior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) scored nine. Point guard Drew Edwards (5th-year, Eden Prairie, Minn.) had eight rebounds and eight assists.
But coach Joe Steinkamp liked what he saw on the other end of the floor.
“I thought our defense was the story,” he said. “We did a really good job. Cornell has some really good isolation scorers and we made them take really tough shots. And our rebounds got us out in transition. We were almost plus-20 (50-32) on the boards.”
Cornell (1-2) was limited to just 31.3% shooting from the field.
With all of the Cornell defensive attention inside, the Dutch perimeter players seized the advantage.
“I thought Kaleb Brand did a really good job early on, making a couple threes to kind of soften up the defense,” Steinkamp said. “And he’s electric in transition. Grant (Johnson) had a good mix of scoring and assists and then Josh (Van Gorp) wasn’t able to get his normal amount of touches but when he did (get the ball), he made the most of it.”
Making the defense pay for the interior focus is important, Steinkamp said.
“Eight threes is a good number and they were all kind of timely,” he said. “That’s going to be big. And we did a good job of not just settling for the threes, either. We got some cuts back door and were able to score a lot of layups.”
Central shot 51.7% from the field and scored 46 points in the paint.
It was the home opener for the Dutch and Steinkamp liked the enthusiasm the Kuyper Gym crowd brought.
“It was a great first crowd,” he said. “I think if we play like that, with that kind of emotion and energy, we’re going to be a team that’s really fun to watch.”
Central is home again Saturday, taking on Waldorf College in a 3 p.m. contest at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Waldorf (2-3) launched its season Oct. 27 but hasn’t played since Nov. 8. Central lost at Waldorf last year, 58-53, and trails in the teams’ series, 3-1.
