Four times in the final 90 seconds the Central College men's basketball team had a shot to tie or take the lead but four times the Dutch came up empty as Augsburg College (Minn.) escaped with a 62-60 non-conference win Tuesday night.

A steal by guard Brock Caves with 11 seconds left gave the Dutch a final chance. But guard Demarco Turner missed a jumper, then Caves grabbed the rebound and tried an off-balance putback that bounced out at the buzzer.

"We had some good looks but they just didn't fall when needed them the most," coach Mike Boschee said.

Augsburg (2-0) is expected to be a contender in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic  Conference but had all it could handle with Central (2-2). The Dutch jumped to a surprising 33-26 halftime lead only to see Augsburg open the second half with a 9-0 run for a lead it never relinquished.

Caves led four Central players in double figures with 14 points, along with five rebounds and four steals. Turner had 12 points and two assists while forward James Chapline had 11 points and two blocks and forward Jack Bruns  had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Augsburg shot 53.1 percent to Central's 46.2 percent, but the undersized Dutch held a surprising 36-23 advantage on the boards, including a 9-1 edge in offensive rebounds. Central committed 16 turnovers.

"It was a great game," Boschee said. "Augsburg's going to be in the hunt in the MIAC, and we think that this team has the potential to be really good as well. We've just got to work hard and continue to improve all season long."

The hard-fought contest served as a great learning opportunity, he said. 

"We had plenty of situations when we had opportunities to make plays," Boschee said. "It's fun to be in these kinds of games when it can go either way. When you put pressure on the team early in the year, that will help us handle it when we're playing in the Iowa Conference."

Central makes a long trek to Moorhead, Minn. Saturday, taking on Concordia College (Minn.) at 3 p.m. Central blew past the Cobbers at Pella last year 85-64, but with five new Dutch starters, Boschee expects a bigger challenge this time at Concordia (2-1).

"Concordia's a very veteran team with all five starters back," Boschee said. "It will be another good test for our ballclub on the road."

It's also another chance for Boschee to go up against his collegiate coach, Rich Glas. Boschee helped lead the Univ. of North Dakota to the NCAA Division II final four while playing for Glas there in 1990.