WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball is set to return to play after two weeks of no competition following its games at the Cruzin Classic in Florida Dec. 19-20. The Knights will open 2022 with an American Rivers Conference matchup at Central College on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 5 – 7:30 p.m. – Pella, Iowa – P. H. Kuyper Gymnasium
Wartburg Knights (10-2, 3-0 A-R-C) at Central Dutch
(3-8, 0-3)
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In the Rankings
The Orange & Black are receiving votes for the second straight week in the
D3hoops.com top 25 rankings. Wartburg is the only team in the A-R-C receiving votes and no team in the conference is currently ranked in this poll.
Last Time Out
The Orange & Black's last game was a 73-71 win against Baldwin Wallace University at the Cruzin Classic in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 20.
Wartburg got down early from a 7-0 run to start the game from Baldwin Wallace but would chip away at the lead until the Knights took a 17-16 lead with 13 minutes left in the half. After trading baskets, the Orange & Black started to pull away with a lead behind 10 first half points from
Jack Molstead. With under a minute left in the half
Marshun Williams made a layup to make the score 44-31, but late free throws for the Yellow Jackets made the score 44-33 at half.
The Knights started the second half by extending the lead to 13 points but five minutes into the half the lead had shrunk to six thanks to multiple three-pointers. Offense from
Codey Hicks and Molstead kept the Orange & Black in front, but the Yellow Jackets would not go away easily and brought the game within one point with 3:30 to play. Free throws from
Drew Olson and Molstead closed the game out and the full court game-winning attempt was no good for Baldwin Wallace to make the final score 73-71.
Season Leaders
Olson leads the Knights in scoring, total rebounds and steals through 12 games this season. The senior guard is averaging 16.3 points per game from an efficient 52.7% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range. He has also added 5.1 assists per game and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per contest. The Osage, Iowa native is also leading the A-R-C with 3.5 steals per game.
Molstead leads Wartburg's offense with 5.8 assists per game and adds 14.3 points per game to compliment his passing. The junior guard is shooting 46.1% from the field and leads the team with a 45.1% mark from beyond the arc. Molstead leads the Knights with 23 made three-pointers and has added 4.7 rebounds per game.
Hicks leads the team in field goal percentage with a very efficient 75.3% mark and he has started all 12 games for the Orange & Black, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Hicks also leads the defense with eight blocks.
Central
Central College has started the season 3-8 overall and 0-3 in A-R-C play. The last contest for the Dutch came at the RDV Sportsplex Classic in Orlando, Fla. where they fell to Hope College (Mich.) 87-70.
The Dutch are averaging 65.4 points scored per game compared to the Knights' 80.1 points per game. Defensively, Central is allowing 70.8 points per game while Wartburg's defense is allowing 70.4 points per game.
As a team, the Dutch are shooting 41.8% from the field and 28.8% from three. They are outrebounding opponents by an average of 5 boards per game. In comparison, the Knights are shooting 51.3% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Wartburg is outrebounding opponents by an average of 6.9 rebounds per game.
Joshua Van Gorp leads Central in both scoring and rebounding with 12.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. The sophomore center is also shooting a team-high 72.8% from the field and has added eight blocks defensively.
The assist leader for the Dutch is Drew Edwards, who is averaging 3.4 assists per game along with 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. The junior guard also leads the team with 17 steals through 11 games.
Series History
This is the first matchup of the 2021-22 season, but it will mark the 141
st all-time meeting between these schools. The Knights lead the all-time series 88-52 and have won six of the last seven matchups.
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