PELLA, Iowa – The Coe College men's basketball team suffered a season-ending defeat at Central College Tuesday evening, falling 99-83 to the Dutch in the opening round of the 2025 American Rivers Conference postseason tournament. Central controlled the game from the opening whistle, taking an early lead after a dominant start. The Kohawks grew into the game and fought back to go in front later in the half, using a 20-10 run to take a 33-32 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first. Central regained a lead before the end of the half, getting a 3 in the final minute to lead 48-44 at the break. The Dutch pulled away in the second half, extending the advantage of nine with four straight points. Coe got within six points with over seven minutes to play but Central sealed the deal in the final phase of play, ripping off a 10-6 run to go up 85-75 which put the game out of reach.
Bennett Sherry scored a team-high 29 points in the loss, adding 13 rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal as he recorded his sixth double-double of the year.
Cooper Nailor (17) and
Cole Hrubes (14) were the other two Kohawks in double figures, complimenting Sherry's explosive evening.
CENTRAL 99 - COE 83
GAME FACTS
- Central opened the game with a dominant run, scoring 10 of the first 12 points to take a 10-2 lead less than four minutes in. The Kohawks answered the early spurt with a scoring run of their own, ripping off a 9-3 stretch to pull within two at 13-11. Central restored a multi-possession lead, scoring six unanswered points to lead 19-11 with 11:29 left in the half. Coe pulled back into the game later in the frame, using a 20-10 run to go ahead 33-32. Hrubes scored nine points during the stretch, hitting back-to-back 3s before Nailor drained a triple to put the Kohawks in front. The teams went back-and-forth over the closing minutes but the hosts regained a lead before the break, using a 13-7 run in the final three-plus minutes to lead 48-44. The teams were both hot offensively after the halftime break, each scoring 14 points in the opening 6:10. The Dutch began to stretch the lead at the 13-minute mark, scoring 10 of the next 15 points to grab a 72-63 lead with 9:28 to play. Central kept its nine-point lead for the next phase of play, answering every Coe basket with points of its own to lead 84-75 with 4:10 to play. The Dutch saw out the victory over the final few minutes, hitting a game-sealing 3 with just over 1:30 to play.
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