Johnson Double-Double Lifts Central in Men’s Basketball Home Opener

Forward Grant Johnson posted his seventh career double-double and second of the young men’s basketball season as Central College raced past Cornell College 83-55 Wednesday night.

Johnson had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while center Joshua Van Gorp overcame a game-long double-team to lead the Dutch (3-0) with 17 points. Guard Kaleb Brand had 16 points and guard Kole Tupa scored nine. Point guard Drew Edwards had eight rebounds and eight assists. Central shot 51.7% from the field and scored 46 points in the paint, while limiting Cornell to just 31.3% shooting from the floor.

Central is home again Saturday, taking on Waldorf College in a 3 p.m. contest at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.

Central Pulls Out Second Women’s Basketball Road Win

The site changed, then changed again. The start time changed, then changed again. And finally, the Central College women’s basketball team journeyed to Grinnell College and gutted out a 62-57 decision for its second consecutive road victory Wednesday night.

As the result of a late-day power outage at Grinnell, just as the Dutch were preparing to depart, the game was temporarily rescheduled for 9 p.m. at Pella. But an hour later, power was restored and the game was rescheduled to be played at Grinnell, with the original start time pushed back an hour to 8 p.m.

Central (2-1) nonetheless was quick out of the gate, leading by as many as 11 points in the first quarter and 39-30 at intermission. A third-quarter surge put Grinnell up 48-45 with 2:00 left in the period. Central was up 50-49 to start the fourth quarter, briefly trailed 57-56 with 1:29 left, but an Allison Van Gorp bucket followed by two free throws each from guards Emily Naughton and Jasmym Williams helped secure the win. Naughton had 12 points for the Dutch while guard Abby Johnson had 11 and Van Gorp scored 10. Williams and freshman forward Kaitlyn Mumm each had eight rebounds as Central held a 50-39 advantage on the glass.

The Dutch are off until Tuesday when they open American Rivers Conference play by taking on Simpson College in a women’s-men’s doubleheader.