Central (11-13 overall, 8-8 Iowa Conference) carries the No. 5 seed into the six-team league tourney and will travel to Indianola Tuesday to take on No. 4-seeded Simpson College in an 8 p.m. game.
The Dutch got a fifth double-double of the year for center Clint Driftmier with 23 points and 10 rebounds and made a late run at the Kohawks (18-7 overall, 11-5 conference). Ley’s bucket with 14 seconds remaining brought Central within three points. Coe’s Kyle Kuenstling then missed a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left to give Central a chance, but Ley’s 3-point try failed. Wednesday at Luther College Ley came up with a steal and a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 60-57 victory.
Coe, which will be the No. 3 seed in the league tournament, got a game-high 26 points from center Mike Kilburg. Driftmier hit seven of his first eight shots for Central and closed at 11-of-16 from the floor. Guard Zak Clark had 11 points, six assists and two steals. while forward Keith Pedersen added 10 points, three assists and two steals.
The Dutch shot 57.7 percent from the floor, including a torried 69.6 percent in the first half, yet trailed at the break 40-37. Central outrebounded Coe 29-27 but was hampered by 16 turnovers.
Driftmier, with at least one collegiate game remaining, moved into fourth on Central’s career rebounding list with 645, passing Matt Melvin (1986-90). He remains ninth in career scoring (1,222 points) and eighth in career field goals (495). Clark has climbed into 10th in season 3-point goals (46) and ranks sixth on the career charts (118). Guard Brett De Hoogh had three assists Saturday, raising his career-record total to 359. His 115 assists this season rank third on the all-time list. He set the season mark last year with 141.
Newspaper Box Score Central College vs Coe College 2/17/07 4 p.m. at Eby Fieldhouse At Eby Fieldhouse COE COLLEGE 71, CENTRAL COLLEGE 68 CENTRAL COLLEGE (11-13, 8-8 IIAC) DRIFTMIER, Clint 11-16 1-1 23; CLARK, Zak 5-15 0-0 11; PEDERSEN, Keith 5-7 0-1 10; DeHOOGH, Brett 3-4 1-2 9; MEYER, A.J. 2-2 1-1 6; LEY, Miguel 2-5 0-0 4; LANG, Sim 1-1 0-0 3; DAVIDSON, Preston 1-1 0-0 2; LEUSCHEN,Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-52 3-5 68. COE COLLEGE (18-7, 11-5 IIAC) KILBURG, Mike 11-13 4-8 26; KUENSTLING, Kyle 4-10 4-6 14; PETERSEN, Kale 2-3 2-2 8; DILLON, Zach 2-4 1-2 6; BREITBARTH, Aaron 1-2 3-6 5; DUX, Kevin 1-4 1-2 4; TIMMERMANS, Ross 1-4 0-0 3; HANNA, Rob 1-6 1-2 3; YANSKY, Brandon 1-3 0-0 2; JACOBS, Jake 0-0 0-0 0; KEHE, Chris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 16-28 71. Central College............... 37 31 - 68 Coe College................... 40 31 - 71 3-point goals-Central College 5-13 (DeHOOGH, Brett 2-3; MEYER, A.J. 1-1; LANG, Sim 1-1; CLARK, Zak 1-5; LEY, Miguel 0-2; DRIFTMIER, Clint 0-1), Coe College 7-19 (KUENSTLING, Kyle 2-4; PETERSEN, Kale 2-3; TIMMERMANS, Ross 1-2; DILLON, Zach 1-1; DUX, Kevin 1-4; YANSKY, Brandon 0-1; HANNA, Rob 0-4). Fouled out--Central College-None, Coe College-None. Rebounds-Central College 29 (DRIFTMIER, Clint 10), Coe College 27 (KUENSTLING, Kyle 8). Assists-Central College 16 (CLARK, Zak 6), Coe College 22 (KUENSTLING, Kyle 11). Total fouls-Central College 21, Coe College 10. A-883 Coe earns the #3 Seed in next weeks Iowa Conference Tournament.