Keith Pedersen drive Jan. 30, 2008

Dutch big men power 76-71 win

PELLA—Enduring a rare off night with its long-range attack, the Central College men’s basketball team looked inside for a 76-71 Iowa Conference victory over Cornell College Wednesday.  

Forward Keith Pedersen (senior, Jefferson, Jefferson-Scranton HS) missed just one shot from the floor while forward Preston Davidson (sophomore, Northwood, Northwood-Kensett HS) provided a career-high 13 points. That helped Central (12-5 overall, 5-5 Iowa Conference) avenge a 61-56 loss at Cornell Jan. 5.

Pedersen, who ranked second in the NCAA Division III in field goal percentage at the start of the week, hit 6-of-7 and finished with 15 points, sharing team-high scoring honors with guard Zak Clark (senior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS). Pedersen upped his season shooting percentage to 71.3.

“Keith was very efficient again,” coach Mike Boschee said. “And he stepped to the line and made two big free throws when we needed them down the stretch.”

Davidson was 6-of-8 and grabbed six rebounds while sophomore center Zach Cooper (sophomore, Johnston) pulled down a game-high eight boards. Guard Miguel Ley (sophomore, San Antonio, Texas, Judson HS) had 12 points, but Central hit just 2-of-17 from beyond the 3-point stripe.

“We’ve been pushing our posts to come up with more offensive production,” Boschee said. “We were struggling with our outside shooting tonight but we got a lot of production inside when we really needed it.”

That enabled Central to still hit 47.4 percent from the field while limiting Cornell to 37.3-percent shooting. The Dutch came up with 10 blocked shots, including four from Pedersen.

“Our bigs did a much better job defensively than we did at Mount Vernon earlier,” Boschee said.

Central retained its shooting eye from the free throw line, hitting 20-of-26.

Central trailed 34-29 at the half but limited Cornell to seven points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Dutch grabbed a 48-41 lead. Central was up by as much as 67-54 with 4 minutes left, but had to withstand a furious Rams’ comeback bid. Cornell (6-12 overall, 4-5 conference) made it 73-71 before a pair of Clark free throws with 12 seconds left provided extra cushion.

Defending league champion Loras College visits Pella Saturday for a women’s-men’s doubleheader at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The men’s contest will begin at approximately 4 p.m. The doubleheader will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) with Jamie Brockman and can also be heard at www.kniakrls.com. Loras was a 76-56 winner over the Dutch in the league opener at Dubuque Nov. 28. The Duhawks are 13-5 overall and 7-2 in league play.