Moody double-double lifts Central men’s basketball squad
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA—Resorting to a guard-dominated lineup, the Central College men’s basketball team used torrid second-half shooting to overtake Buena Vista University 77-73 Wednesday night.
Central’s limited inside depth was further depleted when forward Seth Wood (junior, Branson, Mo.) was hampered by foul trouble, leaving 6-foot-3 Jaden Moody (junior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) in the post at times, but he delivered a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double.
“The guy who was the man for us tonight was Jaden,” coach Craig Douma said. “He played all 40 minutes, but I wasn’t taking him out of the game. He took the team on his back. He didn’t shoot from (3-point range) very well, but he found a way to score.”
The Dutch (5-9 overall, 2-3 American Rivers) trailed 32-31 at intermission and were down 50-40 with 15:12 left but used 61.5-percent second-half shooting to rally. Central went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to two and finally grabbed a 60-58 advantage with 8:29 remaining.
Guard Jamel McKnight (senior, Austin, Texas, Hendrickson HS) added 18 points and guard Adam Flinn (sophomore, Wildwood, Mo., Lafayette HS) scored 12 with five assists and three steals. Forward Thomas Spoehr (freshman, Bennington, Neb.) had nine rebounds.
Buena Vista (8-7 overall, 2-4 American Rivers) was within 75-73 in the final minute and had three opportunities to tie the score but mustered only one shot. Moody hit two free throws with 6 seconds left to nail it down.
Central held a 40-30 rebounding advantage. However, the Dutch committed 18 turnovers and were outshot 46.8 percent to 45.8 percent for the night.
“The turnovers were uncharacteristic,” Douma said. “Those were really frustrating.”
Central snapped a three-game losing streak.
“When you lose the players we’ve lost, this was a good win for us,” Douma said. “BV has been playing people tough. They create a lot of mismatches.”
Douma said Wood gave the Dutch a big lift when he returned to help spark Central’s second-half rally.
“I thought Seth gave us a boost,” he said. “Those two 3’s he hit were huge.”
The Dutch defensive effort was much improved, Douma said, citing the play of Flinn as well as freshman guard Nick McColgan (Western Springs, Ill., Lyons Township HS) who came off the bench. But he also credited several players who didn’t get on the floor.
“Our (scout) team did a great job of preparing us,” Douma said. “They’re short and they’re quick. This was a total team effort because of the way we got prepared in practice.”
Saturday the Dutch are at Luther College in Decorah for a 4 p.m. contest as part of a women’s-men’s twinbill. The Norse are 6-7 overall and 0-5 in the league after tumbling 85-74 at Wartburg College Wednesday. Central swept a pair from Luther last year and has won the teams’ last 11 meetings.
