Sizzling Central rolls to men’s basketball win in Illinois
JACKSONVILLE, ILL.—With a scorching 60% effort from beyond the 3-point line, the Central College men’s basketball team broke into the win column in dominating fashion, 102-67 over Lincoln Christian University (Ill.) Saturday.
The Dutch (1-3) shot 59.6% from the floor, including 65.6% in the first half, racing to a 53-35 halftime advantage in the third-place game of the Bill Merris Tournament at Illinois College.
Guard Adam Flinn (junior, St. Louis, Mo., Lafayette HS) had 22 points and received all-tournament team honors. He had 13 points in Central’s 73-62 first-round loss to Carroll University (Wis.) Friday.
Guard Jaden Moody (senior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) added 21 points and freshman Drake Johnson (Stanton) continued to surprise with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
“We played much better,” coach Craig Douma said. “We shot the ball so well. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys.”
All 17 Central players who made the trip saw action.
“It was good to get a lot of bench scoring,” Douma said. “We were able to clear the bench really early.”
Defense, an ongoing sore spot for the Dutch, was especially improved.
“We took their shooters out of it,” Douma said. “We took them out of what they wanted to do. And we rebounded very well.”
The Dutch held a 37-23 rebounding advantage over Lincoln Christian (0-3).
Central is off until opening the American Rivers slate with a women’s-men’s doubleheader at Loras College in Dubuque Tuesday, Nov. 26. The men’s contest tips off at 7:30 p.m. The Duhawks were an NCAA Division III tourney participant last year and are among the league favorites. They scored a pair of double-digit wins over Central last season.
“We’ll look at areas we need to improve on next week,” Douma said. “We’re not really going to add anything, but really try to learn how to execute better when we come out a week from Tuesday.”
