Van Gorp breaks school record, Curren hits a game winning shot in basketball win

Van Gorp broke his own school record of 48 points

by Peter Leithauser

Pella, IA (02/03/2025) — Bradley Curren (sophomore, Harlan) made a layup with 1.4 seconds left and Joshua Van Gorp (5th-year, Pella, Pella Christian HS) broke his own school record with 55 points to give Central men's basketball team a 75-73 win over Coe College Saturday.

Central (13-7, 8-3 American Rivers) was down 71-70 before Van Gorp scored a layup and added a free throw with 15 seconds left. Coe (11-9, 4-7 American Rivers) then made a floater with nine seconds left, before Curren finished the game with his layup.

"We like to go fast if we can when the defense is in scramble mode," said coach Joe Steinkamp. "Owen Schipper did a great job of giving it to Curren and he attacked the rim and made a tough layup. It was a cool game winning shot."

Van Gorp broke his own school record of 48 points against Coe on January 27, 2024. He was 26-of-36 from the field, and he also collected 15 rebounds to total his 13th double-double of the season.

"Coe wanted to limit out hot outside shooting, so they guarded Van Gorp with one guy, so we kept feeding him the ball and he got a lot of really good shots," Steinkamp said. "It was one of the most unbelievable performances in school history. His ability to score all night long is a tribute to his conditioning and his work ethic."

Kaleb Brand (5th-year, Mount Vernon) added eight points while also dishing out eight assists.

"I love the leadership from Brand and Van Gorp," said Steinkamp. "Their unselfishness and toughness have led us through this stretch of good play."

Karson Wehde (sophomore, Ankeny) and Owen Schipper (freshman, Waukee) both contributed five points and two assists. Curren's only bucket was the final one, but he also had four assists.

"A turning point in our season was after Coe beat us," Steinkamp said. "We weren't playing that great and we were 2-2 in the conference. We tweaked some stuff and now we are 6-1 since then it says a lot about the character of our team. Different guys step up every night and I love how we play. We have also raised our defensive play recently."

As a team Central shot 60% from the field and 2-6 from three-point land while Coe shot 45.3% from the field and only 25% from three.

The Dutch hit the road and Travel to Storm Lake Wednesday to take on Buena Vista University at 7:30 p.m.

Joshua

Van Gorp