The Central men’s basketball team handed Cornell College its first Iowa Conference defeat on the season and moved into first place in the conference with a 60-54 victory over the Rams. The Dutch led 55-44 with 2:37 remaining, but committed three turnovers and missed several free throws to allow Cornell to cut the lead to 57-54 with 15 seconds left before closing the door with free throws.

Central’s Loren Liming tallied a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, and was complimented by a 17-point effort from Miguel Ley. The win bumps the Dutch up to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in league play. Central will try and keep things going at home on Saturday evening, when they host Luther College.