PELLA, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball fell to Central College on the road 84-77 on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The Knights are now 7-6 in American Rivers Conference play and 10-12 overall.
 
Game Summary

• First Half
  • The Knights got the scoring started with a layup from Drew Olson and Marshun Williams and Central answered with two layups of its own until Jack Molstead connected on a three to make it 7-4 two minutes into the game
  • Keagan John made a layup and then connected with a three after a Central layup to give the Knights a 12-6 lead
  • Central cut the lead to two, but Donovon Smith made a layup to put the Knights back up by four
  • After each team traded a layup and three pointer, Olson made a three to make the score 22-18 with 10:00 left in the half
  • Central tied the game at 24 with 8:42 and then took a 29-27 lead with 6:22 left in the first
  • The Dutch's lead got up to five before a Cade Daugherty jumper and Molstead three pointer tied the game
  • Central made two three pointers to close the half, but Codey Hicks got two points bck with a layup that made the score 40-36 Central at halftime
• Second Half
  • The Dutch hit a jumper to start the second half, but Jack Molstead scored five straight points to bring the Knights within one with 17:59 to go
  • Williams gave the Knights a 43-42 lead, but Central hit a three and scored the next five points
  • Trent Allard gave the Knights four points off the bench, but the Dutch continued to answer and led 57-49 with under 10 minutes to play
  • Austin Bienemann and Molstead both scored to cut the lead to seven, but Central stretched the lead to 10 with 6:15 to play
  • The lead got as high as 13 points for Central with 3:50 left in the game
  • John connected on a three with the foul for a four point play and then hit a three the following possession to cut the Central lead to seven
  • Another jumper from John and then four points from Williams cut the lead to 74-70 with 1:56 to play
  • The Knights continued to foul and the Dutch were able to hold on to a two possession lead
  • A Molstead three got the Knights within four, but Central held on to win 84-77

 
Top Performers

• Molstead
  • 20 points
    • 7/18 FG
    • 4/10 3P
    • 2/2 FT
  • Five assists
  • Four rebounds
• John
  • 16 points
    • 5/13 FG
    • 3/6 3P
    • 3/3 FT
  • Three rebounds
  • Two assists
  • One steal
• Williams
  • 14 points
    • 5/8 FG
    • 1/2 3P
    • 3/5 FT
  • Two rebounds
  • One block
  • One steal

 
Notes/Streaks

• Split regular season series with Central
  • Knights lead all-time series 90-54
• First back-to-back loss since Jan. 11
• Ninth 20 point game for Molstead this season
• Wartburg shooting percentages:
  • 41.2% FG
  • 40.7% 3P
  • 80% FT

 
Next Time Out
The Knights continue A-R-C play back at home on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 4:00 p.m. in Levick arena against Buena Vista University.