PELLA — The Central College men's basketball team returned to P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium on Friday for its home opener, beating Cornell College 88-74.

The Dutch (4-1) were in control for most of the game, but really put it out of reach in the second half when they went on a 30-11 run that spanned from the 14:35 mark to the 5:04 mark, ultimately extending their lead to 21. While Cornell (0-5) stopped the bleeding and went on a small run of their own, it wasn't enough to overcome the big second half from Central.

Bradley Curren (junior, Harlan HS) led the way for Central in the scoring department with 21 points while shooting 7-10 from the field and an extremely impressive 7-9 from three. Braylon Thomsen (freshman, Davenport Assumption HS) did his fair share of scoring as well, with 20 points in only 20 minutes of playing time on an efficient 6-10 from the field and 4-6 from three. Thomsen also led the way with nine rebounds. Kyle Cason (freshman, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) added another 17 points to the Dutch's total.

All of this scoring wouldn't have been possible without Owen Schipper's (sophomore, Waukee HS) playmaking, as the forward dished out a game-high nine assists while also tallying seven rebounds.

It was an overall team effort for Central in their home opener, who continued their winning ways, moving to 4-1 on the season. The Dutch have a little over a week off before hosting Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) on Saturday, November 29 at 1 p.m.