Storm drop home finale, still in contention for IIAC Tourney

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Jordan Townsend scored 15 points and Dubuque beat the Simpson men's basketball team 76-56 in the final home game of the regular season on Wednesday.

Brandon Ferguson and Andre Norris came off the bench to score 13 and 12, respectively, for the Spartans (18-6, 8-5 Iowa Conference), who won their third in a row.

Playing in the final home game of his career, senior Elijah Knox had 14 points, five assists and seven rebounds for the Storm (6-18, 2-11), who lost their sixth straight.

Despite the loss, Simpson remains in contention for the sixth and final spot in the IIAC Tournament. The Storm need to beat Central on Saturday and hope Dubuque beats Loras, creating a three-way tie for sixth. Simpson would get the nod in that scenario due to holding a better record (3-1) than Central (2-2) and Loras (1-3) against the teams involved in the tie.

Chris Frazier – the conference leader in 3-point shooting – made two from beyond the arc as part of a 12-0 Dubuque run midway through the first half which resulted in an 18-11 lead. Frazier started the run with a 3 at the 13:41 mark before the lanky Norris added a pair of dunks.

Prior to Frazier's first 3, Simpson led 11-6 after a made jumper by Knox.

Down by nine at halftime, Simpson couldn't cut the lead to less than seven in the final frame. Up 55-46 with 6:43 left, the Spartans mounted a crippling 9-0 run to pull away.

Simpson goes to Pella on Saturday, Feb. 16 to face the Dutch (10-13, 3-10), who beat Loras 71-68 on Wednesday.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.