Second-half shooting woes haunt Central men’s basketball team
Central College
PELLA — After shooting 68 percent from the floor in the opening half, the Central College men’s basketball squad connected on just 31 percent in the final 20 minutes, falling 86-78 to Simpson Wednesday night.
The Dutch (12-6, 3-4 Iowa Conference) knocked down 17-of-25 shots in the first half, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc to lead Simpson (12-6, 5-2 conference) 45-36 at halftime.
Central opened the second frame with a 3-pointer to extend its lead to a game-high 12, but the shooting went cold after that, as the Dutch made just 9-of-31 shots from that point forward and the Storm knocked down 58 percent to outscore Central 50-33 in the second half. Simpson converted 6-of-9 3-pointers in the second half, while the Dutch made only 6-of-20.
“It’s a broken record for us right now,” coach Craig Douma said. “We can’t seem to put two halves together.”
The Dutch outrebounded Simpson 36-31, but committed 22 turnovers that led to 23 second-chance points for the Storm.
“We’re not taking care of the ball,” Douma said. “This game came down to turnovers and bench points.”
The Simpson bench outscored the Dutch subs 43-16.
“We didn’t get enough production out of our bench tonight,” Douma said. “That’s been a trait of ours but not tonight. We have to have more than 16 bench points to be successful.”
Central put five players in double-digit scoring, led by 16 from junior guard Pete Walker (Red Oak), who tacked on seven rebounds and dished out six assists. Senior guard Austin Hauser (Marshalltown) poured in 15, while junior guard Tate Handsaker (Nevada) added a season-high 14 on 4-of-7 shooting.
“I thought Tate shot the ball well tonight,” Douma said. “It’s great for him to gain some confidence.”
Junior forwards Colby Taylor (Creston) and Austin Glawe (Aurelia/Sioux Central HS) tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively, and Glawe added seven rebounds. Junior forward Ryan Kunkel (Solon) blocked a career high six shots and added four points and five rebounds.
“Kunkel was the difference in the first half,” Douma said. “Early on, he did a great job of protecting the rim.”
Unfortunately for the Dutch, Kunkel and others got into foul trouble.
“We had a battle with foul trouble all night,” Douma said. “We had a couple of guys get quick fouls in the second half and that hurt us.”
Douma was quick to give Simpson credit, though.
“They outplayed us in the second half,” he said. “They are a good team playing well right now and it seemed like they wanted it more. They brought more intensity and executed a lot better than us down the stretch.”
Simpson’s Sam Amsbaugh came off the bench and scored 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc.
“He was the difference in this game,” Douma said. “It’s really difficult to guard teams who have post players that can knock down 3-pointers. He played really well.”
The Dutch will host Coe Saturday at 4 p.m. on the back end of a women’s-men’s twinbill and a special event will follow the game. The Kohawks got the best of Central Jan. 20 in Cedar Rapids, 77-69. The game will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) and live stats and video will be available at central.edu/athletics.
“It’s all about Saturday now,” Douma said. “We’ve got some soul searching to do. This is gut check time for us and we have to go one game at a time.”
