PELLA— After winning the American Rivers Conference tournament, the Central College men's basketball team will carry its four-game winning streak into the NCAA Division III National Championships tournament.
The Dutch were selected to play in regional hosted by Washington University of St. Louis. Central vs Washington-St. Louis will tip off a6 6:40 p.m. Friday night.
It will be the first time since the 2015-16 season Central will be playing in the NCAA tournament and the 13th time in program history.
"When we had our name called on the selection show it was a proud moment," said 5th-year guard
Kaleb Brand (Mount Vernon). "We have put in a lot of work and it's a testament to our coaches and our players for sticking together to get the job done."
Washington-St. Louis carries a 19-6 record and a 9-5 record in the UAA. This will be the third ever meeting between Central and the Bears. It will be the first time the two schools play since December 9, 2017, in which Washington-St. Louis defeated the Dutch 87-83. Central is 1-2 all time against the Bears.
Washington-St. Louis is currently ranked No. 17 in the latest D3hoops.com poll and it averages 80 points per game while only allowing 67 points. The bears shoot 47.6% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range during the regular season.
"It is going to be fun to play a team we haven't faced in previous seasons," said 5th-year center
Joshua Van Gorp (Pella, Pella Christian HS).
"It does not matter who we play we will be ready, but we are excited to keep going," said Brand
No. 18 ranked Denison University (24-3) and Franklin College (21-7), were the other two schools placed at the regional site, and they will play each other at 4:10 p.m. The winners of each of the two games will play in the regional final Saturday at 6:40 p.m.
Projected starters
Central
Bradley Curren (G),
Karson Wehde (G),
Kaleb Brand (G),
Owen Schipper (F),
Joshua Van Gorp (C)
Washington-St. Louis
Hayden Doyle (G), Ryan Cohen (G), Will Grudzinski (G), Drake Kindsvater(F), Calvin Kapral (C)
