A tenacious closing effort couldn't overcome a late first-half dry spell as the Central College men's basketball team was outmuscled by traditional NCAA Division III men's basketball contender Wis.-Platteville 94-77 Saturday.
           
A 5-minute Dutch drought let Wis.-Platteville (5-2) break it open with a 16-0 run. The teams combined to hit the game's first seven shots and Central was still within 24-22 with 11:15 left in the first half. But over the next 5 minutes, the Dutch missed four shots and made six turnovers. It was 54-34 at the half.
           
"We didn't come to play until about the final 12 minutes of the game," coach Craig Douma said.
           
Central (3-6) committed 23 turnovers, including 16 in the first half, and was outrebounded 30-24.
           
"We beat ourselves in the first half," Douma said. "They were very physical and we just didn't adjust very well early."
           
Wis.-Platteville extended the margin to as many as 27 points but a 14-2 Central spurt created a little late-game tension, cutting the advantage to 77-67 with 5:58 remaining. The Dutch crawled to within 82-74 with 3:15 left before Wis.-Platteville closed it out.
           
"I am proud of how much we battled in the second half," Douma said. "We showed a little grit. The fact that we were down 27 on the road and cut it to eight is pretty amazing."
           
Sharp shooting helped the Dutch cause. They hit 53.7 percent from the floor including a season-best 52.2 percent from 3-point range (12-23). Wis.-Platteville (5-2) was accurate as well, shooting 50.7 percent from the field.
           
"Shooting like that, we probably should have won that game," Douma said.
           
Central put four players in double figures. Guard Jaden Moody (junior, Cambridge, Ballard HS) had 17, guard Jamel McKnight (senior, Austin, Texas, Hendrickson HS) had 15, guard Adam Flinn (sophomore, Wildwood, Mo., Lafayette HS) scored 14 with four assists and forward Seth Wood (junior, Branson, Mo.) had 12 with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
           
The Dutch turn their attention to fall semester exams for a few days, then play host to Faith Baptist Bible College Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. A video stream and live stats can be accessed through the Central athletics website at athletics.centra.edu. The Eagles are 3-6 after getting overwhelmed 104-58 at Simpson College Saturday.
           
"Now we focus on academics," Douma said. "Then we need to take care of business on Thursday."