Former Ankeny standout Karson Wehde scored one of the biggest baskets of his collegiate career on Saturday.
The sophomore forward made a layup with 2 seconds left to give the Central College men’s basketball team a 78-76 victory over Loras College at Pella. He scored off an assist from former Waukee player Owen Schipper.
“The final play wasn’t actually designed for me,” said Wehde. “It was drawn up to get our all-American big, Josh Van Gorp, a good look. But when Loras pressed us, we had to adjust and play out of it. The ball came my way, and I was able to make a back cut for the game-winning layup!
“I’d also like to thank my teammate Owen for the perfect pass,” he added.
Wehde finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists while going 5-for-11 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
“Wehde played an excellent all-around game today,” Central coach Joe Steinkamp said. “He has really improved and is a great two-way player. He had the game-winning shot, which was a great play, as well as an isolation bucket late in the game. I am happy for him and the game that he played.”
There were 12 lead changes in the game. After trailing at halftime 35-30, the Dutch shot 62.9 percent from the field and 6-of-10 from behind the arc in the second half to help secure the win.
“Loras is a physical team, and we were able to outrebound them, which is a strength of theirs,” Steinkamp said. “It was a balanced effort with four guys scoring in double figures and it was a great basketball game with a lot of guys making plays, hitting big shots and I was proud of how our team responded.”
Central improved to 3-2 in the American Rivers Conference at 8-6 overall. The Dutch handed Loras (4-1, 10-4) its first loss in league play.
“We had a great scouting report from assistant coach (and former Ankeny star) Conor Riordan, and our team did an excellent job of taking away their ball screen action, which is a strength of the opponent,” Steinkamp said.
Wehde has played in 12 of the 14 games this season, starting all of them. He is averaging 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game.