Slow start hurts Simpson men against Dubuque

DUBUQUE - Stefon Brown scored a career-high 23 points but six Dubuque players reached double figures in an 83-76 win against Simpson on Saturday.

Matt Poirer finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Spartans (13-6, 7-3 IIAC) avenge a seven-point loss to Simpson earlier in the season.

Chris Frazier scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting, going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Mitch Michaelis added 14, Taylor Blum had 12 and David Kushnir and Lee Piccineli accounted for 10 each.

Brown went 9-for-15 from the field, pacing the Storm (9-11, 6-5). Zack Barragan went 3-for-7 from 3-point range, scoring 17 points. Cornelius Mosby posted his first double-double of the season with 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

After trailing by as much as 17 in the first half, Simpson mounted a 20-8 run in the final six minutes, cutting the lead to five at the break.

Dubuque extended its lead to 16 with five minutes to play, but a 3 by Brown capped a 17-4 run, making the score 79-76 with 36 seconds left. But free throws from Piccineli and Poirer put the game out of reach.

Sitting at fifth place in the conference with five games remaining, Simpson hosts second-place Coe on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Cowles Fieldhouse. The Kohawks (13-6, 7-3) won by seven in the season's first matchup. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.