PELLA — Trailing by 10 with under 7:30 remaining in the game, the Central College men's basketball team stormed back and overtook preseason favorite Dubuque in a 72-67 win Wednesday night.
It was a tightly played first half, but the Dutch (11-3, 2-1 Iowa Conference) used a 7-0 run in the final three minutes to take a 31-28 lead into the break. However, it was Dubuque (9-5, 2-1 conference) who came out of the half with momentum, taking a lead at the 11:24 mark and stretching it to 57-47 before calling a timeout with 7:10 on the clock. Central used the timeout to regroup and battled back, pulling ahead 65-63 with 1:28 remaining. The Spartans were within three with 12 ticks on the clock, but two Central free throws put the dagger in the Dutch victory.
"We have been challenging our guys lately to be tough and come up with big plays," coach Craig Douma said. "When we got down 10, we made some big plays and got some key stops."
Central was good on 49 percent of its shots, while the Spartans shot 39 percent from the floor. The Dutch were able to knock down 12-of-27 3-pointers, a 44 percent clip, and Dubuque was just 7-of-20 from behind the arc for 25 percent. Both teams were 12-of-19 from the charity stripe and had 36 rebounds.
Central dished the ball out well, racking up 16 assists on its 24 made shots, while the Spartans had seven assists on 24 makes.
The Dutch bench was a key factor, going for 29 points, compared to just nine from the Dubuque reserves.
"We had some guys come off the bench and really step up for us," Douma said. "We talked about bench production before the game. The starters on both teams are pretty even, so it came down to bench play and we had the advantage,"
Junior forward Austin Glawe (Aurelia/Sioux Central HS) was the leading Dutch scorer coming off the bench, going for 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while adding five rebounds.
"I was feeling it tonight," Glawe said. "My teammates were driving to the hole and kicking the ball to me and the shots were going down."
Senior guard Austin Hauser (Marshalltown) scored a career-high 16 points, including 11 in the final 11 minutes of the game.
"Hauser was the difference in tonight's game," Douma said. "He was the best point guard on the floor. He broke down their (Dubuque's) defense and tore them apart down the stretch."
Sophomore guard Kyle Smith (Ionia/New Hampton HS) tallied 12 points and five assists, while junior guard Pete Walker (Red Oak) went for six points, six assists and five rebounds. Junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) was the leading Dutch rebounder with eight, also scoring eight points.
"I think Kyle and Pete played a heck of a ballgame offensively and defensively," Douma said. "Colby stayed strong and got some rebounds when we needed them."
Douma knows this game tested his team's character.
"It says a lot about a team to come from 10 down," he said. "I hope the guys realize what they did tonight and how big of a win this was for us. It was a lesson to these guys and shows what kind of toughness they have."
Central will play host to Loras Saturday at 4 p.m. in the P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Duhawks (7-7, 2-1 conference) dropped a 78-60 contest with Simpson Wednesday.
"We have to keep preaching to stay strong in tough situations," Douma said. "But we'll take this one tonight and enjoy it."
