Forward James Chapline swatted away a potential game-tying shot with 9 seconds remaining and the Central College men's basketball team hung on to surprise Coe College 66-63 Saturday.
That prevented Coe (13-6 overall, 7-3 Iowa Conference) from moving into a first-place tie in the league standings and allowed Central (11-8 overall, 7-4 conference) to climb within two games of the lead. Coe had dominated the Dutch at Pella Jan. 8, 68-45.
It was the third straight road win for the Dutch, who had to claw from behind for Saturday's victory. Down 23-21 at intermission after shooting just 32.0 percent from the floor in the first half, Central hit 53.8 percent in the second half and took the lead for good with 7:19 left on a 3-point bucket by Demarco Turner. That sparked an 8-0 run that put the Dutch up seven. Still leading by 65-58 with 1:24 left, Central had to withstand a Coe rally. The Kohawks got the ball on a missed Central shot with 25 seconds left, trailing 65-63. David Mataloni, who led Coe with 18 points, took the ball to the rim but was denied by Chapline, who also corralled the rebound.
"(Mataloni) was able to get penetration," coach Mike Boschee said. "But (Chapline) came over from the weak side and got a huge block."
Guard Brock Caves hit one of two free throws with 6 seconds remaining and Mataloni had a 3-point shot from the corner at the buzzer but couldn't connect.
Caves had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Central while Turner scored 13 points and forward Jack Bruns had 12 points and seven boards. Chapline also had seven rebounds.
Central outshot Coe 43.1 percent to 39.6 but was outrebounded, 37-31.
"It was a lot of fun and a good atmosphere," Boschee said. "It was two really good teams playing really hard."
The Dutch have made huge strides since the earlier meeting with Coe.
"The team is much more engaged in what we're doing and more focused," Boschee said. "We've just been playing better basketball. Coe still guarded us really well but we were able to make more shots.
"We're getting good leadership and we just hope we continue to play well."
Turner's 3-pointer moved him into ninth place on the all-time school season list with 51. He's hitting 44.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
Central returns to P.H. Kuyper Gym for three straight games to close out the home schedule. The Dutch tackle the Univ. of Dubuque Wednesday in a women's-men's doubleheader with the men's game tipping off at approximately 8 p.m. Central outscored the Spartans at Dubuque Jan. 17, 97-81.
A video webcast and live stats of Wednesday's games can be accessed through the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.