Moody hits 24 but Central men’s basketball team outscored
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA—Guard Jaden Moody (junior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) had a career-high 24 points but the young Central College men’s basketball team was outshot by Wartburg College 102-85 Saturday.
The Dutch are still learning lessons on the defensive end as Wartburg (8-5 overall, 2-2 American Rivers) shot 57.1 percent in the second half and 52.0 percent for the game, rolling up 55 second-half points.
“They’re a senior-laden team,” coach Craig Douma said. “They made plays and we didn’t.”
Central remains without injured forward Caden Mauck (Kansas City, Mo., Blue Springs South HS).
“Without Caden, we’re really limited with size,” Douma said. “What you’re seeing is a really young team. But I’m proud of our effort. We didn’t lay down.”
Moody hit four 3-point goals as did forward Seth Wood (junior, Branson, Mo.), who had 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Guard Jamel McKnight (senior, Austin, Texas, Hendrickson HS) had 14 points and five assists while guard Shimar Jones (senior, Marshall, Texas) had 10 points.
Central shot 43.5 percent and hit 19 of 25 free throws while outrebounding Wartburg 41-39. But the Dutch made 16 turnovers while forcing just six.
“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Douma said. “And I thought our transition defense in the first half was really poor.”
Wartburg got a combined 74 points from three players, including 28 from star guard Jaran Sabus, whom Moody was forced to guard.
“Jaden played hard today,” Douma said. “He had a tough assignment against Sabus.”
The Dutch complete a three-game league homestand Wednesday, playing host to Buena Vista University in a women’s-men’s doubleheader with the men’s game tipping off at 8 p.m. Buena Vista is 8-6 overall and 2-3 in the league after downing Luther College 89-81 Saturday at Storm Lake. The Beavers took a pair of games against Central last year in the regular season but the Dutch prevailed in the opening round of the league tournament.
“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Douma said. “I told the players afterwards, ‘You’ve got to demand more of yourself and guard better.’ Eight-five points should be enough to win a game. But I thought the players had the right attitude in the locker room. They want to come to work Monday.”
