News Release

PELLA, Iowa — Guard Chris Nelson had a season-high 20 points as the Central College men’s basketball team shot 58 percent from the field in an 87-72 non-conference victory over Westminster (Mo.) Saturday.

Nelson knocked down three 3-point buckets as the Dutch hit 57.1 percent from beyond the arc and placed five players in double figures.

A pair of big runs fueled Central (2-3). The Dutch reeled off 13 unanswered points to jump to a 17-4 lead with 13:20 left in the first half. Westminster (0-6) climbed back to within five and trailed 45-35 at intermission.

Westminster whittled the gap to 50-55 midway through the second half when Central went on a 15-2 spurt and stretched the lead to as many as 20 points in the closing minutes.

Center Clint Driftmier posted his fourth double-double in five games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Taylor Phipps had 17 points and and seven boards, guard Brett DeHoogh had 14 points and guard Zak Clark had 13 points and four assists.

While coach Mike Boschee was happy with Central’s shooting, he was disappointed in some defensive letdowns.

“Our intensity and concentration were lacking,” he said. “We’re trying to get the guys to focus for the entire 40 minutes. But it’s something we’ll continue to work on and hopefully continue to get better at as the season goes on.”

Central’s early lead contributed to some lapses, he said.

“Things came easy to us early on and we thought we were in for an easy game,” he said. “But Westminster battled back. They’ve played some close games.”

Nelson’s shooting gave the Dutch a lift.

“It was nice to get Chris out of a little bit of a slump,” Boschee said. “We need that from him. He’s one of our best shooter and we need him to stretch the defense a little and open up our inside gave. Chris needs to continue to play at that level.”

The game marked the return of forward Keith Pedersen. Pedersen suffered an injury on the season-opening tip Nov. 18 against Viterbo (Wis.). He played for two minutes off the bench Saturday but remained limited. His status for next week is unclear.

Central travels to Oskaloosa to take on former Iowa Conference rival William Penn next Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. game.