Still dancing! Sharpshooting Central stuns St. Olaf in NCAA basketball
Central College
STEVENS POINT, WIS.—Extending its magical season by at least one more day, the Central College men’s basketball drilled 11 of its first 12 shots, then withstood a St. Olaf (Minn.) second-half assault to knock off the No. 25-rated Oles 85-72 and advance in NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament play.
The Dutch (21-7) advance to a second-round game Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Friday’s second contest between No. 1-ranked Wis.-Stevens Point and Marian (Wis.).
“We’ve been in that situation a lot this year,” coach Craig Douma said. “The Iowa Conference challenges us. We’ve had a double-digit lead before and it has been cut to (single digits). Every great team makes a run and St. Olaf is a great team. They pushed us hard, but we showed up down the stretch.”
Fueled by its torrid start, Central raced to a 45-28 halftime lead shooting a single-half season-best 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the field en route to the most first-half points allowed by St. Olaf (22-6) in an opening frame this season.
“When you start that way, it makes it easier to finish,” said Douma. “We pressured them early. We executed at a very high rate; probably the highest all season. That was the difference.”
But the physical lineup of St. Olaf turned up the defensive intensity after the break and steadily whittled the lead, climbing to within 59-55 with 8:57 left.
Central had another burst left in its tank, though, reeling off eight unanswered points to reassert control for its first NCAA tournament win since 1991, an 88-77 win over Bethel (Minn.) inside P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Its last NCAA tournament victory away from home was a 72-64 win over Redlands (Calif.) in 1985 at Lincoln, Neb.
“We started well in the second half, but we had a tough stretch,” Douma said. “But we toughened up defensively, got some rebounds and pushed through it.
“We showed all kinds of resiliency tonight.”
The Central seniors definitely brought their A-game. Guard Kevin Kaerwer (senior, El Paso, Texas, John L. Chapin HS) led all players with 27 points, one less than his career best, on 9-of-14 shooting and five assists. Forward Matt Greenfield (senior, Huxley, Ballard HS) notched his 14th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Center Spencer Bakerink (senior, Creston), giving up some size in the middle, scored a career-high with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and hauled in eight rebounds.
“Kevin did a great job attacking the rim and taking what they gave him,” said Douma. “Spencer came up with six offensive rebounds, which led to most of his points. He slowed down and finished. Those plays were huge.”
The Dutch shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from distance and converted on 22-of-30 free throw attempts. Central dominated the glass 43-29, including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second chance points and 38 points in the paint. The Oles shot 44.1 percent (30-of-68) from the field, but only 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point range.
“It’s a shooters’ gym,” Douma said. “We feel comfortable in it and we shot well. We took a ton of shots in our practices and it paid off tonight.”
Guard Nile Eckermann (junior, Cosgrove, Clear Creek-Amana HS) joined the senior trio in double figures with 12 points and five dimes. Forward Colby Taylor (freshman, Creston) finished with eight points, five rebounds and three assists, while frontcourt mate Kyle Newendorp (junior, Pella) scored eight points, all in the first half, on 4-of-4 shooting. Guard Fred Pratt (senior, Rosenberg, Texas, Lamar Consolidated HS) chipped in two points and two rebounds.
“Kyle did a great job getting us started in the first half,” said Douma. “He exploited some things they were trying to do defensively and finished his opportunities.”
The bench play was even more important due to the absence of forward Yaw Sapon-Amoah (senior, Ghana, Africa, Des Moines Christian HS), who was sidelined due to injury.
St. Olaf’s all-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honoree Sterling Nielsen led the Oles with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Fellow all-league pick Connor Gunderson was held to just five points on 1-of-3 shooting. No other St. Olaf player reached double figures.
Central awaits the winner of Friday’s second game between Marian (Wis.) (22-6) and top-ranked Wis.-Stevens Point (26-1).
“We love it,” Douma said. “We don’t know who we’re playing, but we’re playing and that’s what matters. It’s a great opportunity for us to keep going and shock the world.”
“Both Marian and Wis.-Stevens Point are very good. It’s our first win in quite some time, so we’re just excited to play whoever we meet next. We’ll prepare for either team. We’re where we need to be and we’ll prepare accordingly.”
