Posted: Nov 23, 2013
Pesky Storm falls short against Pioneers
Simpson
(0-4)
72
Wis.-Platteville
(4-0)
75
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simpson (0-4) | 32 | 40 | 72 |
|
Wis.-Platteville (4-0) | 37 | 38 | 75 |
INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson men couldn't quite catch UW-Platteville as they fall 75-72 despite Dillon Gretzky's career-high 21 points.
Despite trailing for a majority of the contest the Storm grinded their way to a 72-72 tie on a fastbreak layup by Gretzky with 1:08 to go. The Pioneers' Chas Cross countered with a slick layup of his own at the 48-second mark. Then a late free throw by Platteville concluded the night's scoring as Gretzky missed a last gasp 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Simpson starters were effective at keeping the score close throughout the second half as the Pioneer lead hovered around five points from the 13:19 mark on. After a Gretzky layup gave Simpson a quick one-point advantage the Pioneers gained a lead they wouldn't surrender after back-to-back buckets by Platteville's Jake Manning with 4:25 left.
Manning finished the game with 20 points and five rebounds as fellow teammate, Jim Stocki, tallied 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Simpson bench, led by Drew Bentley with 11 points and four rebounds, had a big performance as they outpaced their Platteville counterparts, 27-6. The reserves kept the Storm in the game early on, scoring the last 13 Simpson points in the first half.
Starter Austin Hennings, coming off a big game against Grand View, contributed 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Storm takes on Augustana (Ill.) at 1 pm tomorrow in the final day of the UW-Platteville tournament.