Center Clint Driftmier added 15 points and eight rebounds for Central while guard Brett De Hoogh had 14 points and a game-high six assists.
“We got help from a lot of places,” coach Mike Boschee said. “We had a very balanced attack and the bench did an outstanding job.”
Buena Vista (8-4 overall, 3-1 conference) was up 54-44 with 12:04 left. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Clark and De Hoogh sparked an 11-0 Central run for a 61-57 Dutch lead with 4:51 remaining. BV threatened but never regained the lead. A pair of De Hoogh free throws made it 71-68 Central with 21 seconds left before BV’s Travis Person got a scoop shot to fall with 9 seconds remaining. Clark hit the first of two free throws but Ryan Dupic’s potential game-tying layup at the buzzer missed the mark.
“I thought we had great execution down the stretch,” said Boschee. “We defended well and did everything we needed to do to win the game.”
Central hit 63.6 percent from the field in the second half and 47.4 percent for the game. Buena Vista connected on 39.7 percent but sank a solid 45.8 percent from the 3-point line. Central held a 41-32 advantage on the boards in getting its second straight win over the Beavers after losing the previous 17 meetings.
The Dutch travel to the University of Dubuque for a women’s-men’s league doubleheader Friday with the men tipping off at approximately 8 p.m. The Spartans stopped Clarke in non-conference play Tuesday and are 7-4 overall with a 1-1 league record.