CEDAR RAPIDS—A game-turning 15-2 run to open the second half propelled the surprising Central College men's basketball team to its third consecutive American Conference victory, 68-65 at Coe College Saturday.
           
Trailing 29-24 at intermission, the Dutch (7-3 overall, 3-0 conference) flurry was partly fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from junior forward Kole Tupa (junior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) as Cenral erupted for 44 second-half points to secure its second conference road win.
           
Forward Grant Johnson (senior, Waukee, Van Meter HS) had a career-high 17 points for the Dutch, who put four players in double figures. Johnson also had 10 rebounds, six assists and a steal in yet another productive outing. Guard Kade Terrell (5th-year, Montrose, Colo.) knocked down five 3-point goals to score 15 points with three assists and no turnovers while center Joshua Van Gorp (junior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) added 13 points and Tupa finished with 11 while grabbing eight rebounds.
                     
"We just played at a lot faster tempo at the start of the half," coach Joe Steinkamp said. "Coe did a really good job in the first half of slowing the game down and really packing the paint and double-teaming Josh (Van Gorp) and we really weren't able to make them pay when they did that. But I thought the guys played a lot more aggressive in the second half."
           
Central led by as many as nine points in the second half and was still up 66-58 at the 2-minute mark when Coe (4-5 overall, 1-3 conference) made its closing run, crawling to within 66-63 before a pair of free throws by guard Kaleb Brand (junior, Mount Vernon) with 8 seconds left sealed it.
           
"I thought Coe had a really good second half," Steinkamp said. "They hit seven threes. Every time we extended the lead a little bit, it seemed like they hit a big three. We couldn't quite put them away. But I thought our guys just stayed so calm in the second half and never really panicked."
           
Steinkamp liked Central's balance and the contributions from several others.
           
"I thought (guard) Drew Edwards (senior, Eden Prairie, Minn.) had a good all-around game," he said. "He made some big late shot-clock plays, especially in the second half and did a really good job defensively."
           
Steinkamp also pointed to a pivotal bucket from Van Gorp off a high-post assist from Johnson that he credited to a play call from assistant coach Conor Riordan.
             
The Dutch shot just 31.0% from the floor in the second half but heated up to 54.8% after the break to hit 43.3% for the game to Coe's 42.1%. Central led 38-31 in rebounds.
          
 "We had kind of a methodical first half where we didn't really score like we have been and the players just responded," Steinkamp said. "They showed their maturity and their confidence. They can handle a lot of different things that teams throw at them."
           
Central takes a break for fall semester exams this week, then has one more pre-Christmas game next Saturday, with a non-conference meeting against Cornell College at Mount Vernon at 5 p.m. The Rams are 3-6 after defeating Beloit College (Wis.) Saturday 66-60. Cornell also meets American Rivers foes Coe College and Luther College next week before taking on Central.