An already inexperienced Central College men's basketball lineup unexpectedly had even a newer look Wednesday but still battled before suffering its first Iowa Conference setback at Luther College, 53-48.
The Dutch (6-5 overall, 2-1 conference) were hit with an avalanche of post-Christmas misfortune, including injuries to several key players. Three of those injured players, forwards James Chapline (senior, Ogden) and Jacob Winkler (sophomore, Lancaster, Mo., Schuyler R-1 HS) and guard Brock Caves (junior, Douds, Van Buren HS), were forced to watch from the sidelines. All three were in Central's playing rotation before Christmas and Chapline and Caves were starters. Their return dates are uncertain.
Yet the quickly revamped club found itself ahead at the half on the road Wednesday, 24-21. But the Norse (6-5 overall, 3-0 conference) rebounded with a 19-3 run to take a 43-31 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Central clawed to within 47-45 at the 5-minute mark and made it 49-48 with 3:00 left, but was scoreless the rest of the way.
"I felt like we missed a lot of good opportunities in the first half," coach Mike Boschee said. "We took good shots, we just weren't able to finish. But when you play Luther, you know it's going to be a grind-it-out game and it was. Both teams played hard, but Luther made a few more plays at the end."
Center Jack Bruns had 17 points and eight rebounds but was the only Central player to crack double figures. Forward Chris Lehmann had eight points and six rebounds. Central was outrebounded 42-32. Luther held a slim shooting edge 36.8 percent to 33.3.
Guards KJ Cool and Jordan Cruse and forward Shaun Mohon were thrust into the most significant varsity minutes of their careers.
"I was really pleased with our effort," Boschee said. "We had good energy. The people that stepped in, I thought played well. KJ, Jordan and Shaun came in and didn't look scared. They competed and played as hard as they could. That's all I can ask for."
Central makes its first home appearance since Dec. 6 Saturday, as Coe College visits for a league women's-men's doubleheader. The women's game tips off at 2 p.m. with the men's game at 4 p.m. A video webcast and live stats will be available through the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.