News Release

PELLA, Iowa — Central College rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to take a second half lead but Buena Vista prevailed down the stretch for a 75-72 Iowa Conference men’s basketball victory.

The Beavers’ Randy Bissen knocked down 9-of-11 shots for 27 points with five rebounds and guard Eric Wiebers had 20 points. BV remains in the thick of the league race at 5-1 and is 13-2 overall.

Central, 2-6 in the league and 4-12 overall, got 19 points and six rebounds from forward Scott Huisman. Forward Simeon Lang had 14 points and four assists while center Clint Driftmier came through with a double-double, dropping in 11 points with 11 boards.

The undersized Dutch held a surprising 31-27 rebounding edge. Both squads shot well, with BV hitting 53.8 percent from the floor and Central connecting on 51 percent.

Central started strong and held a 24-15 lead with 12:35 left in the first half, only to have Buena Vista reel off a 13-0 run over the next three minutes and led 41-36 at the break. The Dutch were down 50-40 with 16:46 left before outscoring the Beavers, 15-4 to surge ahead, 55-54 at the 11:07 mark. But a Mitch Cameron free throw with 10:14 remaining put BV ahead to stay at 58-57.

Central travels to Dubuque to take on the University of Dubuque in another league tilt at 8 p.m. Tuesday.