Late Simpson rally comes up short against Loras

INDIANOLA - Mike Gleason hit a momentum-killing 3, Dan Pawelski scored a game-high 21 points and Loras beat Simpson 77-69 on Wednesday night at Cowles Fieldhouse.

With Simpson in the midst of an 8-0 run late in the second half, Gleason silenced the rally with his second 3-pointer of the game, giving the Duhawks (2-6, 1-2 IIAC) their first Iowa Conference win of the season.

The coaches' pick to win the league crown, Loras opened up a 17-point lead after halftime before the Storm (2-5, 1-2 IIAC) mounted a rally in the final seven minutes.

After a Guy Travis jumper gave Loras a 69-52 lead with 7 minutes left, the Storm scored eight straight points. Matt Fouch capped the run when he knocked down a 3 with 3 minutes, 19 seconds remaining to make the score 69-60.

But Gleason's 3-pointer proved to be the dagger for Simpson, which made only 1 of 5 free throw attempts throughout its late rally. The Storm shot 60 percent from the line for the game, going 7-for-12 in the final 20 minutes.

Seth Hutcheson and Elijah Knox led Simpson with 15 points apiece. Knox handed out three assists, had three steals and scored 11 points in the final 6 minutes, 30 seconds of the contest. His 3-pointer with 29 seconds left brought Simpson within six before a pair of Connor Mooney free throws iced it for Loras.

Stefon Brown, John Cord and Rob King all added eight points for Simpson, which will look to snap a two-game skid when Crown (Minn.) visits Cowles Fieldhouse on Friday in a non-conference matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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