Blue Jays Fall Short To Central (IA)

by Kayla Reeg

The Westminster’s men’s basketball team dropped to Central College on Tuesday evening, 91-68. The Blue Jays are now 1-6 on the season.

Prior to the game, senior Verdis Lee Jr. got an unexpected surprise. After being in Afghanistan since April, Verdis’ older brother, Specialist Maurice Edwards, arrived at the game to surprise Verdis. The two were reunited on the court before the game started.

Central College had a quick start to the game, taking a 14-4 lead after five minutes of play. Juniors Matt Murphy and Kellen Brondel put in two jumpers, followed by a three-pointer from Jay Zalis to close the gap, 18-12. The Blue Jays then went three minutes without putting another basket in and were behind 28-15 with six minutes left in the half.

Throughout the rest of the first half, both teams battled back and forth. Central College led 45-29 going into the second half of the game.

Brandon Moore came out to make a difference in the second half. He put in two layups and a jumper to in the first two minutes. Central College responded with ten quick points to extend their lead 65-47. Jimmy Villalobos made a jumper on the foul and sunk his free-throw. Tanner Gentges quickly followed with a three-pointer.

The Blue Jays continued to fight throughout the last seven minutes, but fell short 91-68. Moore led the night with a total of 18 points after going 2-2 from the three-point line and 4-4 from the free-throw line. He also added nine rebounds to the night.

The men’s basketball team will continue conference play on Saturday at home against Blackburn College. Tip-off will start at 5 p.m.