PELLA—Sometimes two points are better than three.
           
It was the ultimate of contrasting 3-point men's basketball records as Grinnell College tied an NCAA Division III mark with 89 3-point shot attempts and Central College set a school record of its own by not taking one all night.
           
The Dutch (1-3) strategy paid off with their first season win, a surprising 105-96 triumph.
           
Grinnell's 89 attempts tied the NCAA record set by Redlands University (Calif.) in 2005. But the Pioneers (2-2), who shattered another Division III mark with 42 made 3-pointers against Emmaus Bible College last Thursday, connected on just 20 Tuesday night (22.5 percent). They were held to an icy 28.1 percent overall (32-114) and their lowest point total of the year. Grinnell was averaging 128.3 points a game.
           
Central guard Shimar Jones (senior, Marshall, Texas), who had never previously cracked double figures, erupted for 28 points with eight assists. Forward Caden Mauck (sophomore, Kansas City, Mo., Blue Springs South HS) had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
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Forward Jaden Moody (junior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) was limited to just 13 minutes because of foul trouble but still had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting while freshman forward Thomas Spoehr (Bennington, Neb.) had 13 points. Forward Seth Wood (junior, Branson, Mo.) had a career-high 17 rebounds.
           
"Shimar played a great game," coach Craig Douma said. "We knew he'd be a great finisher. I'm really happy for him. And Caden Mauck played really well."
           
While Central had numerous 3-point opportunities, Douma wanted to go with a different approach.
           
"We felt we could get to the rim and shoot high-percentage shots," he said. "We wanted to get to the rim and get to the foul line. We did a good job of that, although we didn't shoot free throws as well as we would like."
           
While Grinnell had some uncharacteristic shooting struggles, Central hit a steamy 69.4 percent from the floor in the first half and 57.9 percent for the night. The Dutch were 17 of 29 from the free-throw line (58.6 percent). They also held the edge on the boards, 71-55. That's just five shy of Central's school rebounding record of 76 set against Greenville College (Ill.) Nov. 27, 2015.
           
Central was dominant in the first half, sprinting to a 56-36 lead and limiting Grinnell to 19.4-percent shooting, including only 14.3 percent from 3-point range. But Grinnell, predictably, came out firing in the second half and a 15-1 run cut the Dutch lead to 68-64 with 11:25 left. It was still a four-point game at the 8-minute mark at 78-74, but Central went on a 17-5 burst to make it 95-79 with 4:25 remaining.
           
"We knew coming out of the half that they would make a run," Douma said. "We took their best punch. I give our guys a lot of credit, they cut it to four, but then we got our energy back. We played so well in the first half but it's tough to keep that energy level. Our bench gave us a nice spark."
           
Because of Grinnell's frantic style of play and frequent substitutions, Central relied heavily on its bench. But a planned substitution strategy had to be altered when the Dutch encountered first-half foul problems.
           
"That went by the wayside," Douma said.
           
Douma credited assistants Obinna Agomo and Kent Henderson for staying on top of the playing rotation.
           
"Our assistant coaches did a great job," he said.
           
It was an exhausting effort.
           
"We just needed a win," Douma said. "We showed a lot of toughness. I'm really proud of our team. They came to play."
           
Central travels to St. Peter, Minnesota Saturday for a meeting with Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) at 4 p.m. The Gusties, 12-13 a year ago, are 1-2 after a 77-68 defeat at Buena Vista University Tuesday night.
           
"They run a five-man motion offense and they run it well," Douma said. "They defend well and they rebound well. They do all the little things.
           
Last year at Pella, Gustavus stopped the Dutch 78-64. That contest also followed a game with Grinnell and Douma said the contrasting playing styles of the opponents caused problems.
           
"It's hard to come back and play normal basketball," Douma said. "But hopefully we can use some of that energy from tonight. Our guys will be pretty motivated after how we performed against Gustavus last year."
           
The first order of business, however, will be getting some rest.
           
"It will be a light practice tomorrow," Douma said with a smile.