Senior point guard Miguel Ley poured in 28 points, but the Central College men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a strong second half by Westmont, as the Dutch fell 80-75 in the championship game of the Tom Byron Classic in Santa Barbara, California. Ley also dished out seven assists, and that effort – coupled with a 19 point, eight assist performance the night before – helped earn him the tournament MVP award.

With two senior starters out for the game, sophomore Jack Bruns and junior James Chapline stepped in and came up with big nights for Central. Bruns had 17 points and 5 rebounds, and joined Ley on the All-Tournament Team; while Chapline put up a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Central led Westmont by as many as seven points in the first half, and went into the intermission up 38-37 after a 3-pointer by Miguel Ley. In the second half, the Dutch again built a small lead, as they went up 46-40 with 16 minutes remaining, but the Warriors went up 53-52 with 12:45 remaining and never trailed again. Central did, however, tie the game up eleven times down the stretch.

The last chance for the Dutch came with 36 seconds left, after a pair of free throws by Ley pulled Central within 76-75, but were shut out for the remainder of the game. Ley’s 28-point performance pushed him into seventh place on the Central College career scoring list with 1,285 points. He passed Eugene Loomans (1961-64) and Pat Rangel (1984-88) last night. Ley also now ranks sixth in career assists at Central with 245.

Central is now 9-3 overall and will return to Iowa Conference play on Wednesday when they host the University of Dubuque in a women’s and men’s doubleheader at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Spartans are 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the Iowa Conference.