PELLA—Three American Rivers men's basketball teams have appeared in NCAA Division III rankings this season. Central College is making a pretty convincing case for a fourth.
           
Just a week after knocking off then-ranked Coe College on the road 94-75, the streaking Dutch (16-6 overall, 10-3 conference) rolled up a 90-65 takedown of nationally ranked Loras College for their seventh consecutive victory.
           
It was just the third loss of the season for the Duhawks (17-3 overall, 8-3 American Rivers), who were ranked No. 20 in the D3hoops.com Top 25. Central exploded for a 53-point second half to break it open before a noisy P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium crowd.
           
It was another big day for All-American center Joshua Van Gorp (senior, Pella), who put up 28 points along with 13 rebounds for his 19th career double-double and his 12th of the season. Contributions came from everywhere. Guard Kaleb Brand (senior, Mount Vernon) was 9-of-9 from the free throw line and had a pair of dunks en route to a 20-point game, forward Kole Tupa (senior, Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) added 14 points with seven rebounds and six assists and forward Grant Johnson (5th-year, Waukee, Van Meter HS) had 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.
           
Yet it was point guard Drew Edwards (5th-year, Eden Prairie, Minn.) quietly flirting with a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
           
"Drew just had a great all-around game," coach Joe Steinkamp said. "He made them pay on the double teams. He's worked hard to improve his jump shot and he's shooting over 40% from three in conference games. He's a great defensive player and really worked hard on those ball screens and made their shots difficult. And then his assists. We went to more high ball-screen stuff in the second half and he did a great job of probing and reading the help."
           
The Dutch shot 53.7% from the field and were nearly as accurate from 3-point range, hitting 11 of 23 (47.8%). Tupa hit four while Edwards and freshman guard Brad Curren (Harlan) each hit three.
           
"Everything obviously looks good when you make shots," Steinkamp said. "We had a lot of open shots. You don't shoot 60% in a half (60.7% in the second half) without getting great shots."
           
Steinkamp loved seeing the Dutch rack up 25 assists on 29 baskets. The Dutch lead Division III in assists per game (20.7). Johnson ranks third individually (6.4).
           
"It's just crazy," he said. "The guys are really bought into sharing the ball. They just care about that, playing defense and winning, so it's a good combination."
           
Loras was up 12-6 at the 14:15 mark of the first half and kept the game close but Central finished the half with a 6-0 run for a 37-28 cushion. But the Duhawks were limited to 31.7% shooting in the second half and hit 35.6% for the game, including 23.5% from 3-point range.
           
"(Assistant coach) Conor Riordan just had a great game plan," Steinkamp said. "Loras plays a lot of guys and they're constantly substituting, but I thought we were on point with our match-ups and just gave up nothing easy. He works so hard behind the scenes to get us a great game plan. He was really big. Everything they threw at us, we were ready for."
           
Central, which is second in Division III in rebounding margin, outboarded Loras 49-31.
           
Van Gorp has scored 126 points in the last four games and now has 1,264 for his career, moving past Clint Driftmeier (2003-07) into 12th place on Central's all-time list. He's averaging 23.4 points a game and ranks fifth in Division III in field goal percentage at 67.1%.. It's an eye-popping run for the Dutch but it's one of the strongest conference fields in recent memory and fierce tests remain, starting with a treacherous trip to the University of Dubuque next Saturday for a women's-men's doubleheader with the men's game starting at 4 p.m. The Spartans are 17-4 overall and 8-4 in the conference after routing Buena Vista University 99-73 Saturday at Storm Lake and are at Wartburg College Wednesday night. Central was an 85-75 winner over Dubuque at Pella Jan. 14.
           
"Dubuque had an injury that led to a couple of their losses, but they're healthy and rolling again," Steinkamp said. "Everyone in our league is so good. It'll be good to get some rest because we're off to the road for a couple tough games. We're just excited to keep playing with these guys, though."
           
Central has climbed into second place in a tightly bunched conference race at 10-3, with Coe leading at 10-2. The Dutch are followed by Nebraska Wesleyan University at 9-3, Loras at 8-3 and Dubuque at 8-4.
           
Saturday's games will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) with Tyler Crabb calling the action. The broadcast can also be accessed at kniakrls.com.