CLEVELAND, OHIO—It was the most combined points ever in a Central College men's basketball game but not even 85 points from three players could get the Dutch past Greenville College (Ill.) in a 145-140 setback Saturday.
           
Competing in the Bill Sudeck Tournament at Case Western Reserve University, Central got a game-high 29 points from forward Caden Mauck (junior, Kansas City, Mo., Blue Springs South HS while forward Thomas Spoehr (sophomore, Bennington, Neb.) and guard Jaden Moody (senior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) each had 28. Spoeher, who also had six rebounds, was named to the all-tournament team.
           
Central was up 72-68 at halftime and was up by as many as six points.
           
"The last 7-8 minutes we got tired," coach Craig Douma said. "Playing that late game Friday night and then coming back at 1 o'clock today was hard, but overall I was really pleased with our effort."
           
Central (0-2) shot a scorching 67.0% from the field (61-91) against the helter-skelter Greenville defense. Greenville (1-1) hit just 49.0% yet connected on 19 3-point goals. Central held a 51-37 rebounding edge but committed 26 turnovers.
           
"Greenville played extremely well," Douma said. "They made some incredible shots."
           
The Dutch put six players in double figures and Douma said freshman guard Drake Johnson (Stanton) was a revelation with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes.
           
"Drake really showed us a lot," Douma said. "He played himself into the rotation. We needed to find some players who can be back-up guys."
           
Guard Sean Kostyk (junior, Cape Coral, Fla., Mariner HS) added 12 points while guard Adam Flinn (junior, St. Louis, Mo., Lafayette HS) had 11 points and eight assists. Guard Marcus Ashford, Jr. (sophomore, Paris, Ky.) came off the bench to deliver eight points and seven assists.
           
Spoehr was named to the all-tourney team.
           
"It was a great weekend for Thomas," Douma said. "That's a great honor. It's a great testament to all the work he's done."
           
Despite the loss, Douma felt the Dutch had a productive weekend.
           
"I know we came out of this thing 0-2 but we got better and we found out some things," he said. "We showed some resilience."
           
Central competes in another tourney, the Bill Merris Tournament at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois next weekend, opening against Carroll University (Wis.) in a 5:30 p.m. game Friday. In the teams' first-ever meeting last year Carroll prevailed at home 76-71 en route to an 11-15 record. The Pioneers opened Friday with a 74-64 victory at Rockford University (Ill.) and take on Lakeland University (Wis.) Sunday. Also in next week's field is Lincoln Christian University (Ill.).
            "
Carroll will be a tough opponent but we're excited to play them again," Douma said. "It will be a great test for us."