INDIANOLA— Forward
Caden Mauck (junior, Kansas City, Mo., Blue Springs South HS) had his 11th career double-double and eighth of the season but the shorthanded Central College men's basketball team was outscored at Simpson College Saturday 92-71.
Mauck had 21 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double in his last nine outings.
"I thought Caden really came to play," coach
Craig Douma said. "I was really happy with the way he finished at the basket."
Guard
Adam Flinn (junior, St. Louis, Mo., Lafayette HS) had 17 points and freshman guard
Drake Johnson (Stanton) added 13 with eight rebounds.
The Dutch (4-10 overall, 1-4 American Rivers), who remain riddled by injuries, shot only 38.5% from the field and were outrebounded 52-31 by Simpson (8-6 overall, 2-4 conference).
"We got pounded on rebounds," Douma said. "In the first half, the difference in the game was offensive rebounds. We let them score too many points on putbacks. We weren't hustling or battling.
"I was disappointed in our effort."
After falling behind 12-2 in the first six minutes, the Dutch climbed to within 16-12, but a 12-1 Simpson run later ballooned the deficit to 30-15 and it was 50-34 at the break. Simpson was up 78-45 with 9:49 left before Central made a late 23-4 surge to cut it to 82-68 at the 4-minute mark.
"We showed a little gumption at the end but it was too little, too late," Douma said.
For the sixth time in the last seven games, Central will be on the road Wednesday, traveling to the University of Dubuque for a women's-men's doubleheader, with the men's game starting at 7:30 p.m. Dubuque is 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the league after suffering a 93-77 home-court loss to Buena Vista University Saturday.
"They've got a little size and they've got a really good point guard, but last year it was their defense that gave us a lot of problems," Douma said.
It's a tough stretch but Douma expects his squad to compete.
"We've got to figure it out," he said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to show some toughness and play with more grit."
