PELLA—Central College put five players in double figures while staging another defensive block party to subdue Coe College 85-71 and retain its hold on first place in the American Rivers men's basketball race Saturday.
           
The Dutch (13-5 overall, 8-2 conference) trailed by as many as seven points in the first half and were clinging to a 32-31 lead at the half. But guard Kaleb Brand (junior, Mount Vernon) nailed three 3-point baskets en route to a career-high 18 points off the bench while his brother forward Nolan Brand (junior, Mount Vernon) put up 10 with seven rebounds in fueling a 53-point Central second half.
           
"They've been great all year long," said coach Joe Steinkamp. "They're so good defensively with their length and athleticism. I was really happy for them that they were able to have a game like this and to see Kaleb knock down those threes. It seemed like every time they made a run, he made a big shot."
           
The Dutch shot 64.5% from the field in the second half, including 57.1% from 3-point range. Steinkamp said the offensive explosion was triggered by Central's effort on the other end of the floor.
           
"I think it started with our defense like it usually does," he said. "We started making some hustle plays and got out in transition. Then we really started to shoot the ball well from the perimeter. When we do that, we're really tough to beat."
           
Center Joshua Van Gorp (junior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had 16 points and seven boards while forward Grant Johnson (senior, Waukee, Van Meter HS) had yet another staff-stuffing line with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots.
           
The Dutch rejected nine shots, marking the seventh time this year they have posted eight or more blocks. They rank second in Division III with 6.1 per game.
           
"And it's not just the big guys," Steinkamp said. "But obviously Josh and Grant have such great length and they're so aggressive on the glass. It's really fun to watch us play defense."
            Meanwhile point guard Drew Edwards (senior, Eden Prairie, Minn.) had 13 points and five assists, along with a block of his own.
           
"I thought Drew Edwards had a great all-around game, getting five assists with just one turnover," Steinkamp said. "He also guarded their best player and really made him work."
           
Central outshot Coe 51.5% to 44.4% and held a 43-29  rebounding advantage, led by a guard, veteran Kade Terrell (5th-year, Montrose, Colo.), who corralled 11 while scoring eight points.
           
"That was huge," Steinkamp said. "We were plus-14 on the boards and he was a big reason why. He didn't have a ton of points but he made a really big late shot-clock play late in the game after they had kind of went on a run. He's just a great leader who does a lot of different things on the floor. He continues to find ways to impact winning."
           
Those performances were needed after a sometimes-shaky first half.
           
"We gave up 46% shooting from the field and we felt like our help (defense) wasn't as good as it needed to be," Steinkamp said. "We gave up some clean shots at the rim."
           
A long road remains as perennial contender Nebraska Wesleyan University visits Wednesday for a conference women's-men's doubleheader with the men's game tipping off at 7:30 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Prairie Wolves (12-8 overall, 7-4 conference) dropped a 75-61 home-court decision to the University of Dubuque Saturday and dropped into a tie for third place in the conference. Central won the teams' first meeting at Nov. 30 at Lincoln, Nebraska 73-67.
           
"Nebraska Wesleyan is completely different than everybody else in our league defensively," Steinkamp said. "They have a really active pressure zone. They present a lot of different challenges and have a very good passing team so we'll really have to be locked in."