Central College jumped to a surprising 2-0 start in Iowa Conference men's basketball play, knocking off Wartburg College 76-64 Saturday.
Guard Demarco Turner drilled 10 of 10 free throws in down the stretch to secure the win for the Dutch (4-3 overall, 2-0 conference), who had to replace five starters from last year's league championship squad.
Central used a stingy first-half defense to take a 31-17 lead at intermission as Wartburg hit just 24.0 percent from the floor. The Dutch stretched the lead to 23 points at 55-32 with 9:51 left, then had to withstand a Wartburg rally. The Knights reeled off nine unanswered points to make it 57-45 with 7:27 remaining, then twice climbed to within seven points. But Turner knocked down all 10 of his free throws in the final 1:47.
"The guys played really well," coach Mike Boschee said. "They were really aggressive for about 30 minutes. It was very similar to the game at Loras (a 74-64 road victory Wednesday). We got a big lead but then we found ourselves in a situation where we didn't understand what we needed to do. Combine that with not defending as well and we maybe let up a little. Plus Wartburg is a very good ballclub.
"But it's great anytime you can get a win against a perennial power like Wartburg."
The Knights were picked to finish third in the conference race but slipped to 0-2 in the league and 3-4 overall.
Turner led all scorers with 19 points and also had three steals with two assists. Forward James Chapline had 17 points and six rebounds while center Jack Bruns had 10 points.
When Bruns encountered foul trouble in the opening half, the Dutch got an unexpected lift off the bench from wiry 6-foot-6 freshman forward Matt Greenfield. In just his second varsity appearance, Greenfield scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
"Matt's been mentally ready to play but we were concerned about him physically," Boschee said. "But he does really well in practice and he's played well in JV games. He just makes simple plays. You teach him something and he picks it up right away."
The Dutch also got nine boards from forward Chris Lehmann and seven rebounds from forward Jacob Winkler.
Central outrebounded Wartburg 42-38 but was outshot 40.7 percent to 40.0. The Dutch forced 23 Wartburg turnovers, coming up with 14 steals.
Central is home again Monday night, with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Faith Baptist.
The Dutch outscored Faith Baptist Nov. 9, 2009, 90-51, and lead the teams' all-time series, 6-0. The Eagles took a 6-4 record into a Saturday game at Central Bible (Mo.).