PELLA—A promising Central College men's basketball start dissipated into an 83-65 defeat against Coe College Saturday.
           
A 3-point Kole Tupa (sophomore, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) bucket with 8 seconds left in the first half got the Dutch (3-7 overall, 0-3 American Rivers) within 33-32 but Coe countered with a three at the buzzer. The Kohawks (9-2 overall, 3-1 conference) carried that momentum into the second half, streaking to a 53-39 advantage in just over 5 minutes of action and were in command the rest of the way.
           
"I thought it was a really good first half by our guys," coach Craig Douma said. "We defended really well."
           
Central saw its shooting percentage dip to 39.4 in the second half but Douma said turnovers remain the team's biggest issue after committing 20 Saturday. Coe had 16 points off those turnovers.
           
"We had 17 assists and we outrebounded them by 11 but you turn the ball over 20 times and they end up with more shots," he said. "It's kind of like going three-and-out in football. Turnovers are deflating for your defense. You keep turning the ball over and pretty soon, a defense is going to start breaking down."
           
That overshadowed another efficient performance by sophomore post Joshua Van Gorp (Pella, Pella Christian HS). He had 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting and had eight rebounds. In three conference games, Van Gorp leads the league, shooting at a scorching 94.4% clip.
           
"Josh Van Gorp was good today," Douma said. "He held a good scorer to 10 points and he scores 20. He did what we needed him to do."
           
Central outrebounded Coe 42-31 but the Kohawks hit 54.5% in the second half and 47.1% for the game. They also knocked down nine 3-point shots on just 18 attempts.
           
Tupa finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Guard Drew Edwards (junior, Eden Prairie, Minn.) had seven rebounds and three assists.
           
The Dutch will take next week off for fall semester exams and after Christmas will trek to Orlando, Florida to tackle Hope College (Mich.) in the Hope RDV Orlando Tournament. Hope, a traditional NCAA Division III contender, has navigated a demanding early schedule with a 4-4 record, falling to the No. 4-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville at home Saturday, 73-63.
           
Douma said the Dutch will ramp up practice time after exams.
           
"We'll work on our conditioning because we're going to be off for a while, but we've got to really work on our offense," Douma said. "We've got to get better."