PELLA —Strong interior play by Buena Vista was too much for the Central College men's basketball team to handle in a 95-74 defeat.
Turning 13 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, the Beavers (9-13, 4-7 Iowa conf.) controlled the paint for much of the game. For just the third time all season, Central (14-8, 5-6 Iowa Conf.) lost the rebounding battle, trailing by a wide 43-26 margin
"I thought they stepped up and were tougher than us tonight," coach Craig Douma said. "They played harder and wanted it more. When you give a team that many second chance points, they're going to punish you."
The Dutch mustered just 22 points in the paint compared to the Beavers' 42 points.
"They got inside and scored," Douma said. "That stat relates to how tough they played."
Central struggled through stretches of shooting woes, finishing the game at 46.4 percent on 26-for-56 shooting.
"We did not shoot the ball well," Douma said. "I thought we got really good looks in the second half but we couldn't make them."
The top Dutch shooter on the night was sophomore guard Kyle Smith (New Hampton) who went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points.
"It was good to get Kyle going," Douma said. "He's had a rough time shooting the last couple games. I think it's a real positive that we were able to get him some shots that he could knock down."
Also providing an offensive sparkplug in the second half was freshman Andre Johnson (Houston, Texas, Alief Hastings HS). Johnson contributed four points and two rebounds in just seven minutes of playing time
"He gave good energy," "He played with a lot of urgency and made some good plays."
The Dutch will play one final home game this Saturday, hosting Wartburg at 4 p.m. in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium on the back end of a women's-men's twinbill. With just three games left in the regular season, Douma knows this is a critical in the league playoff chase.
"We've got some soul-searching to do," he said. "Our backs are against the wall a little bit. We've got a chance to do some great things still."
Saturday's game will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) and live stats and video will be available at central.edu/athletics.
