MOUNT PLEASANT — Brushing off any preseason hype, senior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) erupted for 36 points in the Central College men's basketball team's season-opening 98-92 win at Iowa Wesleyan University Tuesday night.
It's the fifth time the two-time all-Iowa Conference performer has topped the 30-point mark. He was the first player in program history named to the Sporting News preseason all-America squad earlier this year.
Central (1-0) survived an early Iowa Wesleyan blitz without guard Pete Walker (senior, Red Oak), who shared team MVP honors last year with Taylor. He's been sidelined due to injury but is expected back in the lineup soon.
The Dutch fell behind early in the contest trailing 31-17 with 11:21 remaining in the first half. But Central responded with a 34-13 run to end the half.
"The way we finished out the first half was a big part in why we won tonight," said coach Craig Douma. "We didn't control the boards at the beginning of the night but we started to do so as the night went on."
The Dutch outrebounded the Tigers 39-26.
Central built a second-half lead of 13, only to see the Tigers make it a one-possession game late. But junior point guard Trashawn Boyd (Normal, Ill., University HS) put the game on ice with four free throws in the final 14 seconds.
"Trashawn was great for us tonight," said Douma. "He made four clutch free throws at the end that put the game away for us. Those were big free throws because we were having troubles getting stops against a talented team."
Taylor posted his 25th career statistical double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his 36 points and 10 boards. Boyd tied a career-high with 22 points and dished out six assists.
Central received key contributions from guard Tate Handsaker (senior, Nevada) and forward Malik Wildermuth (junior, Normal, Ill., University HS) according to Douma.
"In the second half, we had big shots from Tate and Malik," he said. "We were able to get contributions from a lot of different guys. It was a team effort."
Handsaker added 11 points including 3-of-5 from 3-point range and Wildermuth had six points from beyond the arc.
Central travels to St. Paul, Minnesota for the Northwestern Tip-Off Tournament this weekend. The Dutch play North Central University (Minn.) Friday at 7:30 p.m. and tourney host Northwestern-St. Paul Saturday at 5 p.m.
