CEDAR RAPIDS — Junior forwardColby Taylor (Creston) poured in 31 points for his fourth-career 30-point performance, but it was not enough for the Central College men's basketball squad to overtake Coe, falling 78-69 Wednesday night.
Taylor added 13 rebounds to his 31 points for his eighth double-double of the season and 20th of his career. The two-time Iowa Conference second team member was 11-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
"We expect big things every night from Colby," said assistant coach Joe Steinkamp, who stepped in after coach Craig Douma was forced to miss the game due to illness. "He found some open opportunities and knocked down the shots on a couple different looks."
The Dutch (12-4, 3-2 conference) started slow, shooting 28 percent in the first half, leading to a 31-20 Coe (6-10, 1-4 conference) halftime advantage.
"We had some good looks in the first half, but the shots just weren't falling," Steinkamp said. "We battled, but in the end we just dug ourselves too big of a hole."
Central clawed back in the second half, taking its first lead at 54-53 with seven minutes remaining. However, it was the Kohawks who then went on a 6-0 run and never looked back en route to their first league victory of the season.
"It's always tough to go on the road in the Iowa Conference," Steinkamp said. "We knew Coe was good and their record was deceiving due to playing a lot of road games to start the season."
Central was without its leading scorer for key minutes in the second half after Taylor picked up his fourth foul and was forced to the bench.
"Obviously, it's never good to have Colby in foul trouble," Steinkamp said. "But we have confidence in all of our guys and we have a deep team. There are other guys who can step up and make plays but we didn't get enough of that."
The Dutch could not get the 3-point shots to fall, making just 8-of-35 attempts. That 23 percent clip is the lowest of the season for Central. Both teams finished the game shooting 38 percent from the floor, but the Kohawks held the advantage from long range, knocking down 9-of-21, a 43 percent mark.
"Credit Coe tonight," Steinkamp said. "They hit some big shots from long range at the end of the shot clock."
Junior forward Austin Glawe (Aurelia/Sioux Central HS) gave the Dutch solid production off the bench, going for 14 points and seven rebounds. He added two steals and a block in extended minutes due to junior forward Ryan Kunkel (Solon) only seeing seven minutes of action after coming down with an illness.
"Austin played really well tonight," Steinkamp said. "He gave us a lift in the second half and made some key baskets down the stretch."
Central will look to get back in the win column Saturday when it travels to Storm Lake for a 4 p.m. game with Buena Vista. The Beavers (7-9, 2-3 conference) dropped a 100-78 contest to Dubuque Wednesday.
"We know anytime you go to Storm Lake, you have to play your best basketball to win," Steinkamp said. "We'll talk to our guys about playing two halves of consistent basketball."
