Central Overcomes Early Deficit, Takes IIAC Tournament Title Over Luther - Mar 11, 2014
Central College overcame a
14-point first-half deficit and held off Luther College, 74-70, to win
the 2014 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Men's
Basketball Tournament Saturday evening. Luther (17-11) sprinted out
to an early 22-8 lead behind five 3-pointers and held a 14-point lead as
late as the 11:03 mark in the first half after John Androus (6'5''-F) hit a free throw to complete a traditional 3-point play to make the score 27-13 Luther. Central (20-7) clawed its way back, though, behind Matt Greenfield (6'8''-F), Nile Eckermann (6'0''-G) and Kevin Kaerwer
(5'10''-G). Greenfield and Eckermann scored eight apiece down the
stretch in the first half and Kaerwer added six with Greenfield knocking
down a 3 as time expired in the first half to take a 38-36 lead into
the locker room. It was a lead the Dutch would not relinquish,
eventually pushing the lead to 11 on two occasions near the midway point
of the second half before the Norse used a 12-3 run to draw closer. Luther
had the lead cut to one point on two occasions in the final 90 seconds
but Central was able to keep the Norse at bay from the charity stripe,
hitting on seven on eight opportunities down the stretch. Eckermann and Kaerwer led the Dutch with 19 points apiece, while Greenfield (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Colby Taylor (6'6''-F) (10 points, 11 rebounds) registered double-dobules. Greenfield also surpassed 1,000 career points in the contest. Luther's John Androus posted a game-high 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Jake Martin added 16 boards. It
is the second IIAC Tournament title for the Dutch, who also won in
2010. Central is now 4-0 all-time in IIAC Tournament games at P. H.
Kuyper Gymnasium. With the victory, Central captured the Iowa
Conference's automatic berth in the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's
Basketball Championship.
Courtesy of IIAC
IIAC Tournament Final: Central - Luther 74-70
IIAC Tournament Semifinals: Central - Buena Vista 86-84 Luther - Dubuque 87-83
All-IIAC 1st Team 2014
Darrow
Kaerwer
Wirth
Norris
Schueller
Player of the Year:
Matt Greenfield (6'8''-F) of Central Defensive Player of the Year:
Nick Wuebker (6'11''-C-92) of Buena Vista Coach of the Year:
Craig Douma of Central
