Smith hits 29 in Central men’s basketball loss

Central Dutch Athletics

Central Dutch Athletics

STORM LAKE—Forward Kyle Smith (senior, New Hampton) knocked down seven 3-point goals and scored 29 points but the Central College men’s basketball team faltered in the second half of a 93-80 Iowa Conference loss at hot-shooting Buena Vista University Saturday.

Trailing just 36-35 at the break, the Dutch (5-8 overall, 2-2 conference) were outscored 58-44 in the second half. Buena Vista hit a sizzling 81.5 percent from the floor in the second half on 22-of-27 shooting, and 64.8 percent for the game, including 53.5 percent from 3-point range. The Beavers (10-2 overall, 3-0 conference) placed six players in double figures.

“They beat us in transition and did a good job of attacking,” coach Craig Douma said.

Smith hit 7-of-11 from beyond the arc and 10-of-18 overall and finished two points shy of his career high of 31.

“Kyle had a good game,” Douma said. “He played aggressive and he made shots. He kept us in the game.”

Buena Vista raced ahead in the second half and was up 61-49 with 12:07 left when Central went on a 12-2 run to cut the margin to 63-61 with 9:24 remaining. But the Beavers countered with a 10-0 burst to regain command.

“I was happy with how we came back and cut it to two,” coach Craig Douma said. “I thought we played really well defensively in the first half but we didn’t rebound well. And we had some good looks but we didn’t shoot well. On the road, you’ve got to make some shots early and you’ve got to rebound, and we didn’t do that.”

The Beavers utilized their size advantage to dominate the glass, 37-26, but the numbers were further skewed by their shooting.

“In the second half, there were no rebounds to get,” Douma said.

Freshman forward Caden Mauck (Lee’s Summit, Mo., Blue Springs South) was the only other Central player in double figures with 10. Guard Jamel McKnight (junior, Austin, Texas, Hendrickson HS) had five boards.

Central shot 43.5 percent from the field and just 29.4 percent from 3-point range. Other than Smith, the Dutch hit only 3-of-23 from beyond the arc.

“We struggled offensively in the second half,” Douma said. “We’re not shooting the ball well right now. But we’ll be OK. We’ve had two really tough games this week, going on the road against Wartburg and BV. That’s a tough way to come off of Christmas. But there’s a lot of season left.”

Central is off until next Saturday when Coe College visits in a league women’s-men’s doubleheader, with the men’s game starting at approximately 4 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. A video web webcast and live stats can be accessed at athletics.central.edu. The game will also be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) and www.kniakrls.com.

The Dutch split a pair of contests with Coe last year. The Kohawks knocked Wartburg College out of first place at Cedar Rapids Saturday, 69-65, improving to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the league.

“That’s a big win for them,” Douma said. “They’re well coached and they play good defense. They do all the little things right.”

Central has a week to prepare.

“It’s tough to sit after a game like this but it will be OK,” Douma said. “We’ve got a four-game week coming up. We’ll get some shots up and get our legs under us.

“We got beat by two really good teams this week but we were in both games. We’ve just got to figure out a way to get it done.”

Posted by on Jan 6 2018. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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